Otto’s Christmas Quest
by Prince Izzy X
Summary: [Slash: Lotto & slight Twister x Keoni] Follow up to “Race across Rainbows.” Otto tries to find the perfect gift for Lars. The problem: It’s nearly impossible to find it—and it’s Christmas Eve! Can the redhead find the present in time for Christmas?
1. The Perfect Present

Disclaimer: Nothing that is copyrighted belongs to me. Only myself & my fan character(s). This goes for the whole fic. And if by some weird twist of fate, this fic breaks any of this site's childish and unfair rules, **_please do the courteous thing and tell me in a review what I did wrong_.** If it doesn't ruin the artistic quality of the fic, I'll fix it **_ASAP_**. I'm usually on all day. **_At least give me a chance to fix the problem before reporting me_.**

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Pre-story Conversation

The scene opened in the studio, which was decorated with many garlands, Christmas lights, stockings, and other things, including a Christmas tree. There were dozens of presents under the tree. The crowd roared as Izzy and I stepped on stage. We were both wearing festive clothes.

I was wearing a Santa Claus suit, minus the beard, and a red cape. My crown was replaced by the red cap that's part of the suit. Izzy, pissed off as always, was wearing a green elf costume, complete with curved shoes that had bells on the ends and fake elf ears.

"I don't know how the hell you talked me into this," He growled to me. "But rest assured, you won't live past New Year's!" I only rolled my eyes in response before looking over him.

"You know, I wonder if I should've made you dress up as the Grinch instead." I thought aloud.

"You wouldn't dare." He threatened with a glare. I shrugged.

"Nah. It wouldn't work. Too much green."

"Too much green!.?.!" He shouted. "Look at what I'm wearing! _This_ is too much green!"

"Whatever." I sighed before turning to the camera. "Anyway, I had wanted to do something for Christmas and this is what popped up. I'm really cutting it close, but if I can keep it short and sweet—"

"Yeah right." Izzy scoffed.

"—and keep working, I just _might_ be able to get this done in time for the biggest holiday of the year. So the question is 'What's the fic about?' Well, first of all, it's a slash fic."

"Damn it!" The elf cursed, stomping his feet. The ringing caused by his feet moving echoed in the room. I rolled my eyes.

"The main pairing is Lars/Otto, but there's also a little bit of Twister/Keoni too. This fic takes place a little bit after Race Across Rainbows, so ya need to read that one before this."

"Hey wait…" Izzy started. "If this takes place after _that_ fic…" His eyes widened. "Then that means…!"

°POOF!°

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!.!.!.!.!" An energetic voice screamed as arms enveloped both me _and_ Izzy. We both grunted and struggled out of the grip of what had us. We then took a look at the owner of the voice.

It was a boy that was a little shorter than Izzy. Like the other boy, he was wearing an elf suit. He also had black hair and a light tan, like Izzy.

"Oh God, not him again…" Izzy groaned.

"Hey Iggy, long time no see." I said, ignoring my partner. Izzy's younger brother gave me a toothy grin.

"Daddy! Hi!" He waved wildly. I gave him a thumbs-up before turning to the camera.

"Anyway, as for the plot, this fic will use the ever-classic Christmas plot."

"Which is…?" The taller elf asked, crossing his arms.

"You know which one, brother!" Iggy started cheerfully. "The one where one person has to get the ultimate gift for their loved one! Right Daddy?"

"Right." I nodded. "In this case, it's Otto who has to find the perfect gift for Lars. He'll have to fight through massive crowds, search high and low, and even battle _both_ of the Yaoi Brothers to get it. Will everybody's favorite redhead succeed in his self-appointed mission? Read on!"

All three of us waved at the cheering crowd as the screen whited out.

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Otto's Christmas Quest

Chapter One

The Perfect Present

Ahhhh… It's Christmastime in Ocean Shores once again. Everywhere, the light poles were wrapped in white and red streamers to resemble candy canes. Wreaths were hanging from each one. The stores and businesses on the boardwalk and pier were made colorful by the lights, garland, and pictures of old Saint Nick, Rudolph, and other Christmas mascots.

Every house in the seaside town was covered in many lights that were arranged in festive patterns. Inside each one, the stockings were hung by the fireplace (Fireplaces? In California?.!). The trees were put up and decorated to the very top with lights, ornaments, and stars among other things. In more than a few, mistletoe hung above every doorway. Eggnog filled every cup. Cookies and milk were put out by the youth of the town.

Despite the hot weather, everybody was happy and joyful. Even Merv Stimpleton, resident grouch and hater of fun, felt his cold heart melting and participated in caroling with his wife, Violet (If you can actually imagine him singing). The needy were well taken care of in the local shelter. Although they didn't have much, they were still able to enjoy this wonderful time of year.

The mall located outside the town was a madhouse, as is every other shopping complex in the country. The lines were massive, especially the one for those waiting to see Santa. Mothers and fathers fought with others for possession of the hottest toys for their children. Needless to say, this was also the case for those shopping for jewelry, clothes, sporting goods, and especially electronics.

Oh yes, everyone fought to grab the best movies, be it VHS, DVD, or laser disc. Digital cameras were also the main target of many a buyer. The mindset was, "The smaller it is, the more features it has." Of course, people battled for the tiniest cameras possible and broke dozens in the process. Computers, laptops, DVD players, VCRs; you name it, it was scooped up by everyone.

Needless to say, video games were also on everyone's main agenda. Gamecube, Game Boy Advance, Playstation 2, X-box. Nearly every system and game available were grabbed off the store shelves and placed into the bags of the battle weary shoppers, ready to be wrapped up and enjoyed by the teenagers and young adults of the town on that special day.

This also held true for one system…

With that, our tale begins on the highest hill in the town. On that quaint cul-de-sac that looms over the beach, amusement park, and Mad Town. The place where you can see the ocean sparkle every day (except when it rains). The home of a group of highly ranked skaters (or at least three of them). The beginning of adventures past. That area—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

A scream. But where did it come from?

Did it come from the Dullard's house, which was decorated with a sufficient number of lights?

No.

What about Seventy-nine Ozone Street, the only house that has a staircase in the front?

No, it didn't come from the house that had Christmas tree stickers on the windows and Santa displays on the walls.

Perhaps the Stimpletons' house, which only had a wreath on the door?

No. Although it was certainly irritated, the voice sounded younger.

No, I believe the voice came from the house next door. The one that had the most decorations on it. From the plastic models of Santa and his reindeer on the roof to the plastic snowman and fake snow on the front lawn, the house was easily the best decorated in the whole town. The only place, the only person a loud roar like that could've come from is…

"Argh! What am I gonna get him!.?.!"

Otto Rocket. Age: eighteen. Height: about six feet. His dreadlocks went down the side of his head, hardly held up by the green headband he always wears. The eyes behind his green tinted sunglasses were moving frantically as he searched circular after circular. He was wearing a sky blue T-shirt and a pair of black shorts. His reddish tanned skin glistened with sweat as he tore through flyer after flyer.

Currently, he was crawling through the floor, which was littered with newspaper ads promoting Christmas sales. The rest of the living room was adorned with decorations of all sizes. Garland and lights of various colors covered the windows. Garland also decorated the stairs and doorways. Without a doubt, the most impressive sight was the tree.

It was a lighter blue than Otto's shirt. A snowy white garland was wrapped around it. Glass ornaments hung from nearly every branch. Candy canes and bells also hung from the tree. Differently colored lights were also wrapped around it. And at the top was a white star. It nearly touched the ceiling. At the bottom were multiple presents that were wrapped in paper and bows of different colors and sizes.

"Ugh! What the hell am I gonna get him!.?.!" Otto yelled again.

"Chill, Ottoman. It's just a present." Twister, his best friend, said from his comfortable position on the couch. "He's not gonna care what you get him."

The boy, who was the same age as Otto, normally wore a brown and yellow striped hat, but he chose to switch it out for a green elf's hat for the holiday. He was about half a foot taller than the one in the sunglasses. Also to celebrate the holiday, he was wearing a red tank top over a green shirt. He was wearing a brown pair of baggy shorts. He had grown out his orange hair so that it goes down the back of his head. He still had the cowlick in the middle of his forehead. Unlike the other boy, he had a lighter tan.

Otto sat up from the pile to face his friend with a dubious look.

"Bro, how could you say that?.!" He shouted. "I have to get your brother the best gift possible! I HAVE to!" Twister shook his head as Otto dove into the pile of ads.

A few months ago, during the summer, the redhead did battle with the brunet in the strangest way possible. Lars had challenged him to a race in a video game called "Mario Kart: Double Dash." The stipulation: whoever lost had to tell the winner his deepest, darkest secret. The decision was that they would race in a week.

What followed was seven days of extensive training in which the two learned the ropes in the game. Lucky for them, they had help from their friends, Reggie and Sam. They also met an incredibly strange pair of brothers who owned a recently-built arcade. Anxious to help, the brothers and Reggie taught Lars how to play while Sam taught Otto.

Among the series of events leading up to the race was the odd thoughts the redhead had regarding the brunet. He started finding the older boy attractive and even had dreams about him. The cause of these thoughts continuously eluded him. It wasn't until the day of the race that he discovered the truth. He had fallen in love with Lars.

Of course, Lars had fallen for the redhead too. The difference was that he knew his feelings longer than the younger boy. In fact, it was these feelings that made him challenge Otto to the race in the first place. Using everything he learned from racing with Reggie and watching the Yaoi Brothers race, he managed to beat Otto in that final race and force the truth out of him. In a grand display of emotions, both boys told each other their feelings and became lovers.

"And _why_ do you have to get Lars the best present possible?" Twister asked.

"I already told ya!" Otto replied, sifting through the circulars for the hundredth time. "I want him to know how much I love him!"

"Yeah, yeah." The taller redhead said, waving a dismissive hand. "And what's the real reason?"

Otto stopped searching and gave the other boy a lopsided grin.

"I'm kinda hoping I could get some from him." He blushed while Twister gagged. Noticing the reaction, he glared at him. "Hey! I didn't say anything when you went shopping for _your_ boyfriend!"

Twister was absent during the strange week. He was visiting his lover, Keoni, who lived in Oahu, Hawaii. Needless to say, when he got back, his reaction to his brother and best friend's relationship was less than pleasant. He fainted and was out for three days. Even then, he screamed non-stop for five hours when he woke up. Hey, you would feel the same way too if you walked off an airplane and found your best friend making out with his greatest rival who just happened to be your big brother. He still can't look at Otto _or_ Lars the same way.

"Oh, do you think Keoni will like the portable DVD player and movies I got for him?" The taller boy asked with slight worry in his voice.

"Uh Twist, let's focus on _my_ problem." Otto started. "You'll find out when his plane arrives tomorrow."

"Well, at least I didn't wait til Christmas Eve to do my shopping!" Twister retorted, offended that his friend would belittle the arrival of his boyfriend.

"Hey! It's not _my_ fault!" The smaller one defended.

"Oh right. You were too busy going on dates with Lars!"

"Yeah… Those were so fun." Otto sighed lovingly. "Hey, you remember Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Ugh, I wish I could forget." Twister groaned. "You both were ogling each other like you were the turkey!"

"Man, I wish Lars could stuff _me_ like a turkey or vice versa." The shorter redhead giggled at the dirty thought while the taller one gagged again.

"Man, I leave for a couple of weeks to see my delectable pineapple and I find my best bro in the arms of my brother."

"Eh. Worse things have happened." Otto shrugged. "Remember that whole thing with the sand getting stolen from the beach?"

"Yeah, you couldn't stop bitching til we got that whole thing dealt with." Twister remarked.

"Hey, _nobody_ stops me from surfing. Especially not some rich punk."

"Whatever." The one in the hat shrugged. The one in the sunglasses went back to looking.

"Still, there's gotta be _something_ I can get him to show how I feel and make him want to take our relationship to the next level."

"I'm telling ya, he's not gonna care what you get him. You could give him a thing of fruit cake and he'll still have sex with you if you asked."

"You're just saying that because you got some from Keoni." Otto stated, looking up from the pile. It was Twister's turn to sigh lovingly as a grin made its way onto his face.

"Yeah… That first time was the best…" He sighed again, causing Otto to gag. "Seriously though, I just sat Keoni down one night, told him how I felt, and we woke up the next day with dirty sheets and sore asses."

"Damn, I need to get me some of that!" The shorter one groaned, laying his head on the surfboard table. He then looked up. "But still, Lars is a lot more complicated than that. He's not gonna just do it with me just because I asked. He needs a token of my love for it to work."

"Pfft. Yeah right." Twister scoffed, crossing his arms.

"You may have lived with him for the last eighteen years, but he let me into his heart. I know his feelings, his likes and dislikes, how he works. He's not going to have sex with me just because I ask him for it."

"If you say so, dude." Twister sighed, giving up. If there's one thing he knew about his best bro, it was that he was unbelievably stubborn.

"Thanks." Otto said before going back to looking.

He must've searched for what seemed like hours before something caught his eye.

"What's this?" He muttered, picking up the paper. "Hey Twist, take a look at this."

"Huh?" Twister looked up from the surf magazine he was reading.

"Listen." Otto cleared his throat before reading. "This thing can connect to the Internet wirelessly, has a built in microphone, stereo sound, backlit screens—"

"Hold up." Twister interrupted. "Backlit? What's that?" Otto shrugged.

"I guess it means you could play this at night without using any lights."

"So it's a game system?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, ok." Twister nodded. He then blinked as a thought came to him. "Did you say 'screens'? As in more than one?"

"Yeah." Otto answered, causing his friend to raise an eyebrow. "It has two screens. The top one is for playing while the bottom one is a touch screen."

"Meaning…?" The taller boy asked, trying to keep up. The slightly shorter one rolled his eyes.

"Meaning you could use your fingers or a stylus to do stuff in the game."

"Ohhhhh…" Twister nodded again. He opened his mouth to speak.

"A stylus is a pen that's used for electronic stuff." Otto said before the first word even left his mouth.

"Uhhh right." The one in the hat said.

"Anyway…" Otto continued. "It's also got wireless chat, wireless multiplayer—and you better know what _that_ means!" He shouted at the other, who was getting ready to talk. "—built-in alarm clock, calendar, _and_ it can fit in your pocket!"

"Damn!" Twister exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah!" Otto added with a grin. "It's the perfect way to show Lars how I feel!"

"But how much is it and what's it called?"

"Let see…" The smaller redhead picked up the paper. "It's called 'the Nintendo DS' and it's a hundred and fifty dollars."

"WHAT!.?.! For _that_ thing!.?.!" Twister yelled. "There's no way you can afford that!"

"Chillax, bro. I got the money." Otto waved dismissively, causing Twister to give him a curious look.

"You have a hundred and fifty dollars?"

"Yep, and then some." The one in the sunglasses grinned at his best bro's perplexed expression. He reached into his pocket and produced a Christmas card. "I got my gift from my grandma early." He opened it and pulled out no less than ten twenty dollar bills.

"Dude!" Twister gasped in disbelief. "There must be, like, a thousand dollars there!" Otto rolled his eyes.

"Try two hundred, Twist." He corrected, pocketing the cash. "I got enough to get the DS and a game for it. Once Lars unwraps this baby tomorrow, he'll be _begging_ me to sleep with him!" He gave a loud laugh at the prospect.

"We still gotta get it before the mall closes." Twister mentioned.

"Duh! I know that!" Otto snapped, putting on his shoes. He then ran over to the door. "Come on! We better get moving!"

And with that, he was gone.

"Hey! Wait up!" Twister yelled, running after him.

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Post-chapter Conversation

"How dare he!.?.!" Izzy roared. "Only _I_ can call Keoni 'my delectable pineapple!' That punk stole my pet name!" He blinked when he felt the stares of me, Iggy, and the audience. He turned to everybody.

"What?"

"Oh nothing…" Iggy and I said with sing-song voices.

"Anyway, there you have it, folks!" I started. "Otto must find a DS for Lars!"

"Some story _this'll_ be." Izzy said grumpily. "He already has the money, so he'll get it instantly."

"No way, bro!" Iggy said. "It won't be _that_ easy!" The older elf growled at him.

"Watch it, ya little—"

"He's right." I interrupted. "Like I said earlier, Otto's got some pretty tough confrontations ahead of him." I turned to the camera. "Will he prevail and make sweet love with Lars? Find out next chapter!"


	2. The Mall

Pre-chapter Conversation

"Oh man! This is nuts!" I panicked as I typed rapidly on my keyboard.

"I told you." Izzy sighed, watching me toil with great relish. "Ya should've waited til next year to do a Christmas fic."

"You never told me that!" I shouted, my eyes never leaving the computer screen. I paused from typing to grab my cup, only to find that it was empty. "More soda! And make it snappy!"

"Right away, Daddy!" Iggy said, taking the cup away.

"As much as I love watching you suffer, you're pushing yourself too hard, Boss." Izzy said. "You can't get it done before Christmas. Just admit it."

"No way am I giving up!" I retorted as Iggy brought me a fresh cup of cherry soda. I slurped as I took a sip. "Ahhhh… I'll get it done in time. Watch me!"

"Yeah sure." The elder Yaoi Brother rolled his eyes before turning to the camera. "Enjoy the chapter!"

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Otto's Christmas Quest

Chapter Two

The Mall

"Ugh! Can traffic be any slower!.?.!" Otto shouted irritably.

He and Twister were currently riding in the latter's car, a used Honda Accord. It was red and seemed to be falling apart. The paint was peeling, giving it a rusty look. The radio was staticy to the point of being impossible to listen to, making the trip even more boring. To make matters worse, an odd smell wafted throughout the vehicle. It smelled like rotting garbage mixed with dead fish. And that was _with_ the air freshener in the car! All four windows were open in a futile attempt to let out the horrid stench.

The two boys were on their way to the mall that lay outside Ocean Shores. Or they _would_ be if it wasn't for the massive traffic jam they were in. The highway to the shopping center was packed with dozens upon dozens of cars, each seemingly containing last-minute shoppers. The back seat of every car was filled to the brim with packages, boxes, and bags. On the other side of the road, people, glad to have their shopping done, were driving along peacefully. Those lucky souls didn't have to wait in traffic. The road was clear for them.

"Don't worry, Ottoman. We'll get there." Twister comforted, though he didn't sound too sure of that. He looked out the driver's side window and gulped as he noticed that _everybody_ was going to the same exact place they were. "Eventually."

"Eventually!.? I need to get there NOW!" Otto moaned, sinking into his seat.

The car moved forward…a few inches.

"How much further is it, Twist?" The shorter one asked, not turning to his friend. Twister stuck his head out the window again and looked at an overhead sign.

"Five miles." He answered, pulling his head back in. Otto groaned. "We'll make it."

The car went forward before stopping.

"This is punishment for me not doing my shopping earlier. I just know it."

"Well, I _did_ offer ya to come with me when I shopped for Keoni last month, but did you go? _Noooooooo__…_" Twister mocked. "Ya had to go out with Lars."

"Aw come on! That's not fair." Otto defended, sitting up. "Sharkenstein's Midnight Snack was playing. I _had_ to go see it!"

Traffic was starting to clear up a little bit.

"Right. So that you could cling to Lars the whole time?"

"I didn't cling to him the _whole_ time…" The one in sunglasses denied. "More like half tops."

"And you made out with him the other half?" Twister remarked, giving Otto a defiant smirk. The latter was going to grin at the former, but changed his mind. He didn't want to give his best bro the satisfaction. Instead, he crossed his arms.

"Twist! I can't believe you'd think I'd want to spend eight dollars just so that I can make out with your brother!" He said in disgust.

"Right. Sorry." The one in the hat agreed. His smirk turned into a grin as he added, "Why spend eight dollars to make out with him when you can spend two hundred and do the mattress mumbo with him?"

"Right." Otto nodded. He gasped a minute later when he discovered his mistake. "Damn!"

"Bust!" Twister laughed as he moved the car about another foot or so.

"That wasn't fair, bro…"

"Yeah, I know. You already said that." The driver chuckled. "Those mind games Sam taught me really came in handy."

"That was a mind game?" Otto shook his head. "Let's change the subject before I wind up embarrassing myself any more."

"Come on, this is fun! At least tell me what you're planning to do tomorrow." Twister pleaded. The smaller boy shrugged.

"What's there to plan? I just go over to your house in the morning, give him his present, and spend the whole day doing the nasty."

"And what happened to Lars being complicated?" Twister teased as he changed lanes. Traffic really started moving now.

"Hey, it couldn't hurt to be simple about it." Otto answered. Twister held his chin with one hand while gripping the steering wheel with the other.

"Good point." He admitted as he weaved around the other cars.

"And what about you and Keoni? What are _you_ two doing tomorrow?"

"Just enjoy each other's company." Twister replied simply.

"Huh?" Otto said in disbelief.

"Oh I'm sorry," Twister started, the smirk returning. "I've already lost my virginity, so I don't care whether or not I have sex with Keoni."

"Oh you're just _loving_ this whole thing, aren't you?" The smaller one asked sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

"Maybe." The taller one grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you and Lars."

"But…?"

"But, like I already said, ya don't have to give him a flashy gift just to get him in bed."

"Twist, we went through this. I'm not going to embarrass myself—"

"Again." Twister reminded.

"_Again._" Otto rolled his eyes. "—by just straight out asking him. I think I can do better than that."

"But do you really have to spend so much though? I mean, you could probably get him a new pair of roller blades for half of what that DS thing costs."

Twister switched lanes again.

"Nah." Otto shook his head. "Money is no object when it comes to the man I love."

"Blech! Did you get so mushy while I was gone those two weeks or what?" The one in the hat remarked.

"Very funny. But seriously, I don't care how much I have to spend on him."

"But since when was he into video games?" Twister asked as they finally reached the exit for the mall.

"Ever since we got together." Otto answered, feeling the force of gravity as the road curved sharply to the right. "He may have hated that Mario Kart game we had to play, but he tried out other games and he's loved them. Sometimes, it's hard to get him to go out with me."

"Sure doesn't seem that way." Twister commented as the road straightened out. "I mean, you guys went out more often in a few months than Reggie and Squid did in a year!"

He pulled into the parking lot. Needless to say, nearly every spot was filled with cars. Except, of course, for the handicapped spaces. The few spaces that _were_ available were quickly taken up by other drivers. Twister groaned as he drove around like a shark hunting its next meal.

"We could've come a month early." He growled to his companion as he lost a spot to a faster driver.

"But then I wouldn't have had any money." Otto offered.

"Ugh!"

"So anyway, yeah we dated a lot. We must've went everywhere at least twice. The amusement park, Mad Town, the movies, _especially_ the movies." He chuckled at that. "Sure, I've went everywhere lots of times, but they didn't even come close to feeling as good as the times I went with Lars." He sighed.

Twister gritted his teeth as he missed another spot.

"Hmmmm… I wonder what's he doing right now." Otto said to himself, ignoring his friend's increasing anger.

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"Oh man… What am I gonna get him?" Lars muttered to himself as he took a lick of his ice cream.

The twenty-one year-old brunet was about an inch taller than his younger brother. Like Twister, he was wearing a festive outfit. His gray hat was replaced by a red Santa cap. He was wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt that had a Christmas tree pictured on it. The shirt nearly covered his red shorts. He was also wearing a pair of white running shoes. He had a dark complexion and brown hair. Three strands covered his right eye.

He was currently standing in his old hangout under the pier, eating a rather peculiar flavor of ice cream. It was a pinkish purple concoction that tasted like peppermint. A green and red candy cane was sticking out of the middle. That's one thing he and his boyfriend, Otto, disagree on. While the younger member of the couple hated the holiday treat, Lars absolutely _loved_ it. It annoyed Otto to no end when he tasted the cold confection whenever they kissed. Despite his protests, Lars still enjoys the treat. He _lived_ for this flavor that's only available the twenty-five days leading up to Christmas!

It seemed that he was more or less suffering from the same dilemma his lover was. The question on the perfect thing to get Otto weighed heavily on his mind. Never mind that it was the last shopping day before Christmas, he wasn't able to think of anything to get in _November_! Needless to say, the constant dates he went on with the boy in the sunglasses didn't help things much. He tried to ask Otto what he wanted. He always tried to ease it into their conversations, but nothing ever came out. Every time he tried to ask the redhead, he would sink into those eyes of his and wind up making out with him.

And now here he was. On Christmas Eve, eating his favorite favor of ice cream, pondering what to get the boy of his dreams. It wasn't just what to get that was on his mind. He wanted to take his relationship with Otto to the next level. He wanted to feel the warmth of the other's body against his own. He wanted to show the other pleasure. He wanted to show the redhead how he felt. He wanted to know the joy of waking up next to him, the one he was sure he'd spend the rest of his life with. He had to give Otto just the right thing to let him know how he felt.

"Lars?" A female voice said. The brunet looked up from his treat to find the older sister of his lover, Reggie Rocket.

The nineteen year-old girl was about a foot shorter than Lars. Her purple hair went down past her shoulders. She was wearing her pair of red-rimmed sunglasses in her hair. She was dressed in a green shirt and a pair of jeans. She was also wearing a pair of sneakers.

"Hey." Lars waved her over.

"Ok, what'd you want that was so important, and why couldn't you be at home?" She asked with an irritated tone as she walked towards him.

"Well, you see…" He took another lick of the ice cream. "I need your help."

"Ugh… Are you actually eating _that_?" She asked, grimacing at the piece of food in his hand.

"_What?.!_ Don't tell me _you_ don't like this either!" He groaned, pointing at the ice cream. "It's bad enough Otto complains every time he sees me with a cone of it!"

"Ugh, didn't I ever tell you how Raymundo practically _force fed_ the stuff to me and Otto when we were kids?" She replied, shivering.

"You might've run it by me once or twice." Lars nodded, taking another lick. Reggie gagged at the act.

"Look, did I come here to discuss your weird taste in food or did you actually want something?" She asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah…" He answered, walking up to her. "I have no clue what to get Otto for Christmas."

"Is _that_ all!.?" She said with relief. "Just get him a new surfboard and he'll be happy."

"I don't want to get him something so meaningless!" He protested.

"Oh great…" Reggie sighed. "I get to spend Christmas trying to help my ex-boyfriend find something for my brother."

"Is that a bad thing?" The brunet asked, starting on the cone. The purple haired girl thought about that one for a few seconds before shrugging.

"Eh. I got nothing better to do." She replied. "So why can't you get him a surfboard or something like that?"

"First of all, doesn't he have like a million boards?" Reggie nodded. "And second…" He hesitated, trying to think of the right way to phrase this. The girl, being impatient with him, decided to take a guess.

"You want to find the perfect gift so that you could have sex with him, right?"

Bingo. The brunet's shocked expression said it all for the elder Rocket. She got it on her first try.

"Look, this really isn't the best thing to ask me." She started, walking away. "Why don't you ask—I don't know—those weird Yaoi Brothers for advice?"

"Are you crazy!.?" He protested, following her. "Those shoobies are the LAST people I wanna ask for this kinda advice! As soon as I mention the word 'sex,' they'll be all over me!"

"Yeah, good point." She agreed. "Besides, I still owe them that picture."

"What picture?" He asked curiously. Reggie slapped her mouth as her eyes widened.

She had forgotten that Lars had no idea that the only reason the owners of the arcade agreed to help her teach the brunet how to play Mario Kart: Double Dash was because she promised to get a picture of him and Otto kissing for the first time, and it was apparent that she was about a few thousand kisses too late. She scrambled to think of something.

"Oh nothing." She finally said, waving a dismissive hand.

Lars didn't buy it one bit.

"No, I wanna know." He gave her a suspicious look. "What picture are you talking about?" Reggie gulped as she tried to think of something to save face.

"Ummm… Err…"

Her eyes shifted around the area. She blinked when she noticed a sign for a sale.

"Come on!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him along, causing him to drop his ice cream. "I know just the thing you can get Otto!"

"But my ice cream!" Lars pouted.

"Oh you could get another cone, ya big baby. Now c'mon!"

She continued dragging him through the strand.

Meanwhile…

"Finally… We…made it…" Otto panted as he and Twister reached the front entrance of the mall.

"Yeah…" Twister huffed. "I can't believe we had to park all the way in back of the lot…"

"Forget about it for now, Twist. We gotta find that DS!"

With newfound energy, Otto ran inside, followed by Twister.

The interior of the mall was incredible. It had four floors of shopping insanity. The sheer size of it can easily make a person feel small. For every store, there were two Christmas trees. Some very expensive looking decorations covered nearly every square inch of the place. From garlands made from pure gold to the life-sized wreaths, the shopping center clearly outdid the decorations on Otto's house.

There were people everywhere. A good number of them were running all over the place, presumably because they were pressed for time. A twenty foot line was in front of the gift wrapping station. An even longer line was assembled where Santa Claus was sitting. Security guards were standing by the entrance to every store, armed with pepper spray, tazers, and night sticks.

"Man, they don't kid around, huh?" Twister observed as they passed Macy's, which had guards that had tear gas launchers hung from their shoulders.

"Whaddya expect? It's Christmas Eve, bro. People get crazy." Otto said, looking around. "Ugh! Where do they keep the electronics around here!.?"

"Maybe there's a map around here somewhere."

"Let's find it."

They pushed through the many crowds, trying to find a directory. Of course, they were shoved around by the people that were trying to get to their next destination. It was like surfing without a surfboard. They were thrown back and forth as they searched for salvation. Otto and Twister swam through the ocean of bodies for perhaps a half hour before they finally found a map of the mall.

"Ugh… That wasn't fun…" Twister groaned, rubbing the bruise on his right arm.

"No kidding…" Otto agreed, rubbing the red spot on his left cheek, which he got from an angry mother after he bumped into her. He turned to the map. "Let's see… How do ya read this thing?"

"Guess we look under 'electronics' or maybe 'toys' since it's a game system."

"Worth a shot…" Otto nodded looking at the list of stores. "Aha! Here we go! Woah! Looks like they got lots of electronic stores here."

"Then that means it'll be easy to find that DS."

"Let's hope so, dude." The smaller redhead said, thumbing through the list. "Looks like the closest store is Target."

(A/N: Is it possible for a Target to be inside a mall?)

So the duo fought through the sea of people until they reached the department store. Tending to their new bruises, they dragged themselves all over the place until the finally came to the video games section. There were glass cases all over. They looked like they were for keeping games away from shoplifters. Of course, it was no surprise to the two boys that they were nearly bare, save for games that starred the Olsen Twins, Hilary Duff, and other such stars.

"Evil…" Twister shuddered at the sight.

"Suddenly, I don't feel so good…" Otto groaned.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I mean, the Olsen Twins? Who'd make a game like that!.? Not to mention who'd buy it?"

"Not that!" The smaller one snapped. "I meant that it doesn't look like they got a DS here."

"Well, let's ask somebody." The taller redhead shrugged.

They walked over the cashier's counter.

"Excuse me?" Otto said to the person standing there, a twenty-something guy with a bad case of acne.

"Yeah?" The clerk asked.

"Do you have any DSes here?"

The clerk gave him an odd look.

"Excuse me a sec." He replied, leaving the counter.

"Well, that was easy." Twister commented.

"See? What'd I tell ya, bro? Piece of cake." Otto bragged. Twister rolled his eyes in response.

Moments later, the clerk came back with three other guys who were snickering.

"Now, what was it you were looking for again?" He asked.

"Ummm… A DS?" Otto replied, having the feeling that something pretty dumb was about to happen.

Turns out he was right.

The clerk and the three workers with him laughed at the two boys. Their taunting chuckles grabbed the attention of everybody walking by the area. Otto and Twister flushed with embarrassment as they kept it up.

"I'm gonna regret asking, but why are you guys laughing?" The latter asked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.! You must be kidding!" One of the employees guffawed. "The DS has been sold out for a month! HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!"

Otto felt himself sinking down a deep hole as the laughing continued. His eyes widened in pure fear. His skin became a ghostly white as the words echoed in his mind. Twister had to shake him in order to bring him back to earth.

"S-sold out…" He repeated.

"That's right!" Another employee said, stifling his laughter. "It's only the hottest thing to come out since DVD players! HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!"

"Oh but don't worry." The third employee started. "We could put you down on the holding list." He pulled out a long roll of paper that had various names and addresses written on it. "You should get it by—oh I don't know—St. Patrick's Day! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!.!.!.!" All four of them broke down again and banged the counter as Twister dragged Otto away.

"Come on, bro. There's gotta be _one_ store that still has one of those things."

"S-sold out…" Otto uttered, his mouth agape. "It's sold out… That thing's going to be impossible to find…"

"Don't give up! There has to be one somewhere." Twister dragged him into the crowd of people. "We just gotta check the other stores."

Unfortunately, the cameraman was way off. In every single store they went to, the situation was the same. They were laughed out by the employees. All they had to do was say the name "DS" and the whole place would erupt in laughter. From Gamestop to Sears, everywhere was sold out of the elusive system, the one thing that can allow Otto to show Lars how he truly felt.

The situation looked dire for them as they went to game store after game store, only to come out empty handed. One by one, their options trickled down. But they wouldn't give up though!

"Man… I give up, Otto." Twister panted, leaning against a wall. "There's no way we're gonna find this system."

"No way!" The auburn haired boy shouted. "We can't give up! Like you said, _one_ of these stores must have this thing! It's just a matter of looking for it!"

"But Ottoman…"

"Muahahahahahaha!.!.!" A strange voice laughed evilly. The two redheads looked around for the source until their eyes settled on a cloaked figure. He looked to be slightly shorter than Otto. Including the cloak, he was wearing all black. From his slightly torn shirt to his boots, not one thing was a different color. The only thing that wasn't black was the gray zombie mask he was wearing. The passing shoppers gave him a wide berth.

"Dude, is that Eddie?" Twister asked.

"Yeah. I haven't seen him in a long time." Otto replied. "I can't believe he still wears that stupid cape!"

"I heard he turned Goth."

"I thought he was always Goth." The one in sunglasses muttered.

"I wonder what's he laughing about."

"Probably some stupid netherworld stuff."

"Finally, I, Eddie, Prince of the Netherworld, shall lay claim to that majestic system!" The caped boy announced, drawing his cape around himself. "The Nintendo DS. Muahahahahahaha!.!.!.!"

"WHAT!.?.!" Otto and Twister shouted in surprise. They turned to each other.

"He must know where we could find a DS!" Otto whispered.

"Yeah!" Twister nodded. "But wherever he's going must be close to selling out."

"No prob, bro. All we gotta do is figure out which store he's going to and beat him there."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am! After all, we're faster than him!"

Twister looked up.

"It looks like he's going straight ahead."

Both boys looked and noticed the odd boy's destination, a small store called "Electronics Boutique."

"Come on!" Otto shouted, running towards the store. "We gotta get there first!"

"Hey wait for me, bro!" Twister yelled, following him.

As Eddie made his way towards the store uninterrupted by shoppers, Otto and Twister weren't so lucky. They had to fight through lines of people who, as luck would have it, were going in the opposite direction they were. After several tense minutes of weaving around their fellow shoppers, they just opted to use Eddie's strange presence to their own advantage. They ran over to the side he was walking through and ran past him.

"What the—?" The caped one yelped, barely dodging the boys. He gasped when he noticed where they were going. "Are they trying to get the system of darkness?" He clenched a fist. "Not if I can help it!"

With that, he dashed after the two redheads. To the great shock of Otto and Twister, he caught up almost instantly.

"So, you two denizens of the Light World are after my prize, eh?" He puffed as he ran alongside them.

"Why whatever gave you that idea?" Otto asked, keeping his pace.

"Whaddya mean, dude? We're trying to get the DS before him!" Twister corrected. The other redhead gave him a cold glare in response.

"Nice going, big mouth!"

"Ha! There's no way you'll get the dark system before me!" Eddie said, pulling ahead.

"Oh no ya don't!" Otto shouted, increasing his speed.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Twister yelled after them as he tried to keep up.

The race quickly became a one-on-one battle between the Prince of the Netherworld and Rocket Boy. They both sprinted towards their goal, never losing sight of their objective. Soon, people were walking on the makeshift racetrack. Otto and Eddie weaved and darted around the shoppers. They plotted the quickest route possible to get past the moving obstacles.

Eddie sidestepped to avoid a man that was carrying many packages while Otto just slid under him.

They even resorted to dirty tactics to stop the other.

Eddie grabbed a woman walking out of a store and knocked her onto the floor to deter Otto, but the redhead was ready. He jumped over the lady and grabbed one of the bags she had. Ignoring her orders to stop, he tossed it at Eddie, causing him to trip. He got right back up though to continue the race.

They were neck and neck when the game breaker occurred.

Both racers were about fifty feet away from the game store when Eddie tried the same trick he used moments earlier. He grabbed a guy that was walking out of a sporting goods store and knocked him over. Unfortunately for the caped boy, the maneuver caused a skateboard to roll out of one of the man's bags.

"Alright!" Otto shouted triumphantly as he hopped on and kicked the ground to increase his speed.

"Oh no!" Eddie cursed as the redhead rolled past him.

Otto laughed as he performed a couple of Ollies and grinded some of the benches until he finally made it to the store. Ignoring the angry people he nearly ran over, he dashed inside and ran up to the counter. He panted as he leaned against the glass case.

"Hello, welcome to Electronics Boutique. Can I help—Otto?" A familiar voice gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Otto looked up and felt his luck turning good.

Standing behind the counter was none other than Sam Dullard, his sister's boyfriend. The eighteen year-old stood at about five and a half feet. His wavy blond hair had grown out and went down the sides of his head. The eyes behind his square-shaped glasses were wide with shock and slight worry. He was wearing a red shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"Squid? _You_ work here?" The redhead asked, standing straight up.

"Yeah. I've been trying to raise money to buy Reggie a present for Christmas." The blond replied, nodding. "So, is this a social visit, or did you come here to buy something?"

"Oh yeah!" Otto answered. "Quick, before Eddie comes in here, I need a DS!"

"Oh, I didn't you know you were into video games. At least not since what happened this summer."

"Ugh, don't remind me. That week was a nightmare." Otto groaned. "It's for Lars."

"Oh ok." Sam replied. "Anyway, we got plenty left."

"Oh thank God." The taller boy sighed with relief. "I'll take one."

"Sure thing, Ottoman. I just have one question."

"Uhhh… Ok." Otto said strangely. "Shoot."

And that was when Sam dropped the bomb.

"Did you pre-order one?"

Otto's mouth dropped.

"Wha?"

"Outta the way!" Eddie shouted, shoving him out of the way. It seemed that he and Twister had finally entered the store. Noticing that he had broken character, the brunet cleared his throat. "I wish to purchase the system of great and ultimate evil, the DS. Muahahahahaha!.!.!"

"Eddie, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't do the whole Netherworld thing when you're in here." Sam scolded, shaking his head. "This may be a game store, but even _that_ is embarrassing."

"Right. Sorry." Eddie apologized, pulling up his mask. "So can I get it already?"

"Sure. Got your slip and the last of your payment?"

"Yep." The caped boy dug into his pockets.

"Are you alright, bro?" Twister asked, helping Otto up.

"Ugh… Yeah, but he's toast!" Otto shouted, shooting straight up.

He was about to attack when he noticed the "prince" take out a piece of paper and a penny. To his great and utter shock, the brunet gave Sam the two items and was given a box that had the DS pictured on the side. From what Otto could tell from the picture, the system was gray and seemed to open up like a clam. The blond rang up the system and put it into a bag before handing it to the customer.

"Much thanks, oh kind peddler." Eddie bowed, putting his mask on. He walked away and was about to leave when he turned and said to Otto, "I pwned you, ya n00b! Muahahahahahaha!.!.!"

And he ran out. Otto stood there, mouth agape, while Twister raised an eyebrow, wondering how Eddie pronounced a word like "pwned," whatever that means. Sam, however, was shaking his head in mild embarrassment.

"Ugh, if his whole netherworld banter wasn't bad enough, he starts using Internet terms." He said before turning to his friends. "Sorry about that. You know how he gets."

"Uhhh… Yeah…" Twister said, turning to the counter. He gasped when he noticed the blond. "Woah! Sammy?.! I didn't know you worked here!"

"I thought I told you guys that awhile back." Sam said, holding his chin.

"What are ya doing here, anyway?"

"Present for Reggie." was the answer.

"Ohhhh…" Twister nodded in understanding. "So you waited til the last minute too, huh?"

"Actually, I already got her gift. I just like working here." Sam clarified. "So what can I do for you guys?"

"Well, we're looking for—"

"What the hell!.?.!" Otto demanded to the blond. "Are you nuts!.?.! That system costs a hundred and fifty dollars and you just gave it to him for a _penny_!.?.!"

"Well yeah." Sam shrugged. "It's weird but he pre-ordered it a few months ago and paid the entire amount except for a penny. He just decided to wait til now to pay that last cent and claim his DS." He chuckled. "Guess he wanted to piss off some poor sap who waited til the last minute to—Oh crap." He stopped himself when he noticed the rage in the redhead's eyes.

Otto felt his face go red in full blooded fury. His veins stuck out and threatened to explode. It looked like his dreadlocks were going to catch fire any moment. He raised his hands in a murderous fashion and inched ever closer to the blond. He was about to lash out at the other boy before he regained control and took a deep breath.

He knew better than to inflict bodily harm on his friend. Reggie would kill him as soon as she heard that the love of her life was put into the hospital. Or Mrs. Dullard would get to him first. Or maybe both of them would double team him. Either way, he'd be dead, meaning he would _never_ have sex with Lars, at least not until _he_ died, but who knew how long _that_ would take? Reggie would probably take vengeance on Otto by keeping Lars healthy well into old age, just to make him suffer.

"Whatever." The boy sighed, getting out of his reverie. "Just give me my DS so I could go home and reflect on this whole thing."

"Wow. That's pretty big of you, Otto, but no can do."

Otto reached out, grabbed Sam's shirt and pulled him in close.

"_Why?_" He hissed through gritted teeth as he stared right into the clerk's very soul. He saw nothing but fear in those orbs. Sam struggled to get out of his grip, but Otto held on tight.

"Be-because y-you d-didn't p-pre-order it!" He stuttered. "We only have enough for those that pre-ordered it! It's store policy!" Otto's eyes flashed dangerously before he pushed Sam backwards, causing him to crash onto the floor.

"And I suppose no other place in the mall sells DSes, right?" The redhead growled. The bespectacled boy could only nod in response. "Let's go Twist." He turned and started leaving.

"But what about—?" Twister started.

"NOW!.!.!" Otto roared, stomping out of the store.

"R-right behind you." Twister said, turning to Sam. "Sorry about that, Squid. You know how crazy people get during the holidays."

"Yeah…" Sam coughed, standing up. "Don't worry about it. This was only the second time that happened today."

"Alright. See ya later then."

The taller boy started walking out when he heard a ringing sound.

"Huh?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, which was black. He looked at the caller ID and noticed that it was a call from home. He immediately pressed Talk and held it to his right ear.

"Yeah?" The person on the other end told him something, causing him to gasp. "WHAT!.?.! Now!.? But I thought—" He was interrupted by the person on the other end. He sighed. "Got it. I'll get there as fast as I can. Bye."

He hung up and ran after Otto, who was halfway towards the exit. He soon caught up to his best friend.

"Come on. We gotta hurry back home."

"Why? What happened?" Otto asked, forgetting his rage.

"Never mind! Let's just get to the car!" Twister answered, breaking out into a run. Otto followed.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Post-chapter Conversation

"Finally! Another chapter done!" I shouted happily as I uploaded the chapter to the Net. I immediately opened a new page in Word and started typing.

"I _loved_ the Sam abuse in the end!" Izzy cheered.

"Figures you would." Iggy remarked. Izzy glared at him.

"Keep it up, smart mouth."

"Anyway!" I shouted, preventing a fight from breaking out. "It looks like the mall yielded no results for Otto. Will he ever get a DS for Lars? What's Reggie planning to do with Lars? And what was that strange phone call about? Find out next time in (hopefully) the final chapter!"

"You got less than twenty-four hours, Boss." Izzy smirked. "There's no way you'll finish it in time."

"Come on, Dad! You can do it!" Iggy encouraged.


	3. The Electrifying Rematch, Pt 1

Pre-chapter Conversation

"Yes!.!.!" Izzy cheered as he ran around the studio with a wide grin. "You couldn't finish the fic in time! It's Christmas and you're _still_ writing! Gwahahahaha!.!.!"

The camera turned to me and Iggy, who were playing on our brand-spanking new DSes. We only looked at the happier-than-usual brunet before turning back to our screens, all four of them (Sorry, I just had to say that).

_Man, what a pain._ Iggy typed to me in our Pictochat room.

_No kidding._ I replied, using my stylus to write. _But still, it sucks that I couldn't finish it on time._ I drew a crying face.

_Oh come on, Dad. Don't blame yourself._ My partner's brother comforted. _There's__ plenty of Christmas stories out there that haven't been finished on time and even got posted late._

_°Sniff° You mean it?_

_You bet!_ Iggy answered, drawing an animé style happy face.

"Hey! Are you two paying attention? I just owned you both! This story hasn't been done yet, so you're late!" Izzy shouted happily. Iggy and I gave him an irritated look before going back to our DSes.

_I wish we could do something to shut him up._ Iggy typed to me. I snapped my fingers.

°CLANG!°

"Joy to the world! For I have massive marshmallows in my pants!" Izzy slurred before falling backwards. An anvil had just landed on his head.

_Your wish has been granted._ I wrote to Iggy.

_Thanks!_ Iggy answered back with another animé happy face. I looked at the camera and quickly scribbled a message on my DS before walking up to it. I held my system up to the camera.

_Enjoy the first part of this two part ending to the fic!_ I then wrote a new message before holding it up to the camera again. _Sorry I couldn't finish it before today, but hey, better late than never, right?_ I shrugged before waving.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Otto's Christmas Quest

Chapter Three

The Electrifying Rematch

Part One

"Rough day?" Ray asked his son as he dragged his feet inside the Shore Shack.

The sky outside was bathed in different colors, indicating sunset. Like the other businesses in town, Christmas decorations filled every corner of the restaurant. Of course, the green garland, fake candy canes, and Santa hats paled in comparison to the Rockets' house. Aside from Tito and Ray, the place was empty.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Otto groaned as he made it to the counter.

"What happened to you, cuz?" Tito asked, noticing the boy's bruises.

"I want you to do one thing for me, Dad." Otto said, ignoring the chef.

"Ok…" Ray said, raising an eyebrow at Otto. "What?"

The redhead reached over and pulled his father towards him.

"NEVER let me wait til the last minute to do Christmas shopping!.!.!"

"Is _that_ why you're such a mess?" Tito asked.

"Yeah…" Otto nodded, letting go of Ray. "Me and Twist went to the mall to get something for Lars, but it was a zoo and everywhere was sold out!" He buried his hands in his arms. "I can't get the perfect present for him!.!.!"

"And where _is_ Twister, anyway?" Ray questioned.

"On his way to the airport." The skater answered, lifting his head.

"The airport!.?" The two adults exclaimed.

"Yeah. Turns out Keoni's flight is coming in _today_, not tomorrow."

Ray and Tito grimaced after hearing that.

"Ouch. The place is gonna be a madhouse." Tito commented.

"It won't be any worse than the mall was." Otto said.

"Oooohhhhh…" A new voice groaned. Everybody turned to see somebody slowly rolling inside on roller blades.

It was a boy, whose body was hunched over. He was panting and dripping sweat. It looked like he was about to drop at any moment. He was wearing a black helmet and pads. He was also wearing a green shirt and a pair of purple shorts. A bullhorn was hanging by a strap off his left hand.

"My brother's a slave driver…" He moaned, rolling past the counter. The trio grimaced when they heard a loud crash. They all ran around the counter to help the boy.

"Are you alright, bruddah?" Tito asked, helping him sit up.

"Ugh… I've been better." The boy replied, taking off his skates.

As he stood up weakly, Otto noticed that he looked about two years younger than him and was about as tall as Sam. He had tanned skin that was slightly lighter than Twister's. The next thing he noticed was that the teen had Link from the Legend of Zelda series pictured on his shirt. It was obvious to the redhead who this was.

"Hey, you're one of those weird brothers, aren't you?"

The teen looked up and gave Otto a scowl. He took off his helmet, revealing puffy black hair.

"_Weird!.?_" He shouted, digging into one of his pockets. "How dare you?" He pulled out a purple cap that had a purple I inside a white circle in the middle. "I'm Iggy, the younger half of the Yaoi Brothers! Don't forget it!" He put the hat on and gasped when he got a good look at the older boy.

"Hey, you're that Otto guy, aren't you? The one my brother and I helped get together with that other guy, what's-his-name?"

"Lars, and yeah, I am." Otto nodded.

"I thought you looked familiar." Iggy said. "The resemblance to Knuckles the Echidna is uncanny."

"Uhhhh…"

"Never mind." The gamer sighed, wiping his sweating head. "Man, I'm thirsty and tired…"

"Well, why don't you sit down and we'll fix you something." Ray said, leading the teen over to the counter.

"Alright, but it's gotta be something that'll give me a lotta energy. I'm wiped."

"No prob, cuz. My Cup of Happiness pick-me-up will give you tons of energy!" Tito said, grabbing some fruit.

"Good…" Iggy breathed, putting his gear next to his stool.

"So were you shredding out there?" Otto asked, sitting next to him. "I thought you and your brother weren't into extreme sports." He grinned and added, "I could always teach ya some tricks if you want."

"Uhhh… Thanks…I think." The brunet said as Tito turned on the blender. "All that Izzy and I are into is blading. Of course, I'm the better skater out of the two of us." He pointed to himself proudly. He then added, "Although I crash a lot…" He chuckled sheepishly. "Izzy's always busy running the arcade. Anyway, I wasn't out there practicing, if that's what 'shredding' means."

Otto rolled his eyes at the younger one.

"Then what _were_ you doing?"

Tito poured a pinkish liquid into half of a coconut, stuck a straw in it, and handed it to Iggy.

"Here ya go, cuz." He said.

"Thanks." Iggy replied, handing him some money for the drink. He turned to Otto. "I was skating around town promoting a tournament my brother's throwing. He's giving a massive prize to the winner!"

"So you guys actually got popular enough?" The redhead asked.

"Yep. Everybody knows us." The younger boy nodded, taking a sip. As soon as the fruit medley went down his throat, his eyes lit up with newfound power. "Woah! This stuff is great!" He greedily drank the remaining contents and held up his cup. "Keep 'em coming! This tastes good!"

Tito laughed.

"That's why I call it the Cup of Happiness, bruddah!" He said, taking the coconut half.

"Anyway," Iggy started, turning back to Otto. "We should really thank you guys."

"Huh? Why?" Otto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When everybody heard that you and Lars got together due to us helping Lars out, tons of people came to the arcade. Business has never been better!" The other boy shouted happily. "…Then again, we _had_ just opened the arcade when he came, trying to learn how to play, so business has always been good… Everybody's been coming to get together with the ones they liked. Me and Izzy are hailed as the number one matchmakers in Ocean Shores!"

Iggy grinned.

"So what've ya been up to? Where's your boyfriend?"

"Home, I guess." Otto replied with a shrug. He then sighed. "I've been trying to get him the perfect gift all day, but no place has what I need."

"Ouch. That's rough. It sucks that ya waited til the last minute, but I guess it happens."

Tito handed Iggy his cup, which had been refilled. The kid drank it all in one gulp.

"Well, I better get going." He said, handing Tito the money for the beverage. He put on his skates and helmet. "Good luck with getting him that gift." He grabbed his bullhorn and skated towards the exit.

"Thanks…" Otto said.

"Hey, come to the arcade sometime. Izzy's been dying to know how you guys are doing." Iggy went outside and turned on the bullhorn. He then took a deep breath before speaking into it.

"_COME ON DOWN TO THE YAOI BROTHERS ARCADE FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TOURNY!.!.!_" He roared. Otto, Ray, and Tito covered their ears to drown out his voice. "_THE GRAND PRIZE IS A **FREE** NINTENDO DS!.!.!_"

Otto's eyes widened after hearing that.

"WHAT!.?.!"

"Huh!.?.!" Ray and Tito yelled over the noise.

"_THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! A **FREE** NINTENDO DS! IF YA WANNA COMPETE, COME TO THE YAOI BROTHERS ARCADE!.!.!_" Iggy then skated off, repeating his message.

"Yes! I can finally get Lars' present!" Otto cheered.

"What!.?.!" The owners of the restaurant yelled, still rendered deaf.

"All I gotta do is beat some kids at a couple of games and it's mine!" His eyes widened. "Wait a minute! I don't know what they're gonna play in the first place! What am I gonna do!.?.!"

"What!.?.!"

Otto sat there, thinking about how he was going to do this.

"There's gotta be somebody that could help. But who?"

He sat there for a few more minutes when a name came to mind.

"Sammy! That's it! I can ask Squid to compete for me! But did he get home from work yet?" He got up and started running. "I'll see you guys later!" He waved at Ray and Tito before leaving.

"What!.?.!"

Meanwhile…

"Uhhh… Are you sure this'll get Otto to sleep with me?" Lars asked, looking inside the bag he was holding. He and Reggie were walking along the strand towards the Shack.

"Of course it will!" Reggie answered. She was also holding a bag. "Once he sees you in that, he'll go crazy! Plus, we got him that new skateboard and repair kit. That'll only make it easier!"

"If you say so…"

"Hey, thanks again for helping me with Sam's gift. How'd you know that he wanted an extension for his computer's memory?"

"He's Squid. What _else_ is he into?" The brunet shrugged. He then looked up and noticed Otto running towards them. "Otto!.?"

"What?.!" The girl looked and gasped. "Quick! Hide 'em!" She put her bag behind her. Lars did the same as the redhead ran up to them.

"Uhhh… Hey Otto." He said, waving at his boyfriend nervously.

"Hiya handsome." Otto said, planting a quick kiss on his lover's lips. When he separated, he started running in place. "Sorry we can't continue this, but I gotta run!" He then blasted off towards the cul-de-sac like a, well, rocket.

"What was that about?" Reggie asked Lars, who only looked after his boyfriend with a lustful gaze.

"I don't know, but he sure knows how to kiss…"

"Ugh…" She slapped her head.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Otto dashed up the hill until he reached the very top, where his house was. Taking only a moment to breathe, he ran over to Sam's door and knocked repeatedly.

"Sam! You gotta help me!" He shouted desperately.

He banged on the door for a few more minutes before the blond, tired from working, answered.

"Otto, what're you—"

He couldn't finish for the redhead had grabbed his hand and started pulling him outside.

"Game tournament, Yaoi Brothers, DS!" Otto rambled as he dragged Sam down the hill.

"Where are you taking me!.?"

"Didn't you hear me!.?" Otto yelled as he increased his speed. "We gotta hurry and sign you up!"

"Ow!.!.!" Sam yelped as he crashed into a low tree branch. "Sign me up for what?.!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After dragging Sam through the streets, and arguing with him about the plan, Otto and the blond stood in front of the Yaoi Brothers arcade. It was currently dark. The arcade looked exactly the same as they remembered it. The entire building was made to look like a castle from the classic game Super Mario Bros. It was seven stories tall. Next to the entrance was a pole that had a green flag waving from the top. A skull was pictured on it.

Above the entrance, which was a pair of electric sliding doors, was a neon display that read, "Yaoi Bros. Arcade." It was flashing different colors, creating a gorgeous reflection in the water nearby. Below the display was a banner that read, "1st annual X-mas tournament today!.!.!" Christmas lights and fake snow decorated the entire establishment. Plastic candy canes were placed on either side of the entrance. A light display shaped like a Christmas tree was placed near the roof.

"They really went all out, huh?" Sam asked.

"Looks like it." Otto replied. "Come on! Let's get inside before they stop taking entries!"

Both boys ran inside the establishment.

After walking through the front hall, which was lined with posters of various video games, they reached the main area of the arcade. Normally, this area was full of coin operated games that were stationed around a giant gold statue of Shadow the Hedgehog. Today, a stage with a screen nearly as big as the statue was the major addition. Also, even more decorations filled the place than outside. Fake snow made the whole room look like the North Pole. A Christmas tree was placed in each corner. Gold and silver garland (man, I seem to be using that one a lot, huh?) lined the walls and ceilings. Mistletoe hung from every arch and machine.

Sam and Otto made their way through the massive crowd that was assembled in front of the stage. Once they passed the anxious gamers, they reached the sign-up table. A man dressed in a referee's outfit was sitting behind it. A clipboard and pen were lying in front of him.

"Hey dude, can we still sign up for this thing?" Otto asked the official.

"Yes, but you better hurry. There isn't much time left before the deadline." The judge replied, handing Otto the pen. Panicking, the Rocket quickly scribbled down his and Sam's names on the sheet. Sighing with relief, he gave the pen back.

"Thank you." The ref said. "If you'd like to wait, the competition will begin shortly."

"Whew. That was close." Otto said, turning to Sam.

"Yeah." The blond nodded. "I wonder how the tournament's going to work."

Shortly after he said that, all the lights in the room turned off, bathing the room in darkness. The only light was coming from the trees and game machines. A few moments of murmuring among the crowd passed before a spotlight turned on over the stage. It revealed a guy that was about Lars' height. His back was turned on the crowd. He was wearing a yellow shirt and orange baggy shorts. He had a tan that was nearly as dark as Otto's. His shoulder length black hair wavered in the light as he spoke.

"Prepare for trouble!"

A few seconds passed before a second spotlight turned on over the stage, revealing Iggy, who was standing next to the other male. His back was also turned away from everybody. It seemed that both of their arms were crossed.

"Make it double!" He said.

"To protect the world from boredom!" The older boy continued.

"To unite all gamers within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of closed-minded people!"

"To extend gay love to the stars above!"

"Izzy!" The taller one turned around with a clenched fist. His shirt had Bowser pictured on it.

"Iggy!" The younger brother turned around, holding his hip with his right hand.

They both pointed at the crowd.

"We're the Yaoi Brothers, gamers extraordinaire!"

"Surrender your bigotedness now or prepare to fight!"

"That's right!" They both ended, winking and giving everyone a thumbs-up.

The audience, minus Otto and Sam, cheered at the performance as the house lights turned back on. The two skaters gave the brothers a freaked out expression. It seemed that they had forgotten about the siblings' motto.

"Welcome to the arcade!" Izzy said into the nearby microphone.

"And a Merry Christmas to everybody that decided to come!" Iggy supplied.

"Thanks to the successful business we've been having the past few months, we're able to hold this, our first annual Christmas gaming tournament!"

The crowd roared.

"So let's get down to business!" The elder Yaoi Brother continued. "Now the rules are—What the!.?" He shouted upon noticing the blond in the crowd. "YOU!.?.!"

Everybody in the audience parted, creating a circle around Sam and Otto. The former looked around before pointing at himself.

"Me?" He asked the brunet with a look of utmost confusion. Izzy's eyes grew cold.

"_You…_" He hissed, pointing at Sam. He hopped off the stage and stormed up to the duo followed by Iggy. "You dare to show your face around here after what happened this summer?"

"What do you mean? What'd I do to you?" Sam asked, keeping that look of confusion. Izzy slapped his head in response.

"What do I mean!.? You got some nerve!" He spat, shaking a fist. "You handed me my first ever defeat!"

"Defeat?" The bespectacled one blinked. "Ohhhh! I remember now! When I beat you in Double Dash, right? You still remember that?"

"That loss has been on my mind every single waking moment." Izzy answered, bowing his head. "I couldn't sleep at night. All that went through my mind was that final race. I went over it bit by bit, trying to figure out what I did wrong, what I did that caused me to lose. But nothing came up. I had raced flawlessly, gave it my all. By all means, I should've won that last race on the Rainbow Road track."

Otto blinked.

"Rainbow Road?" He asked the irate brunet.

"Yeah Rainbow Road. What's it to you?"

"That's the same track Lars challenged me to on that day."

The brothers gasped.

"Really? What happened? Which one of you won?.!" They both asked excitedly. The crowd around them groaned in exasperation. It was clear they were expecting blood. Otto blinked and rubbed the back of his head.

"Uhhhh… Lars beat me." He admitted, blushing.

"Yes!" Izzy pumped his fist as he turned to his brother and held a hand out. "Pay up! I told you he was gonna win!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Iggy grumbled, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill, which Izzy snatched and put in his own pocket. Otto blinked again before glaring at the brothers.

"Hold on! You _betted_ on which one of us would win!.?.!"

"Yep." They replied like it was no big deal.

"Ugh…" Otto groaned, slapping his head.

"Uhhh… Can we get back to me?" Sam asked.

"Huh?" The others faced him.

"Oh right. I almost forgot." Izzy said before his cold glare came back. "You destroyed my reputation. Before I moved here, me and Iggy were known as two of the greatest gamers ever to participate in sanctioned tournaments. And yet, in that one day, everything I worked so hard to accomplish was destroyed! On every gaming message board, all everybody could talk about for the past few months was that I, Izzy, the older of the Yaoi Brothers, _lost_ against some nobody from a seaside town!

"And now you, my rival, have the audacity to show up in my arcade and enter my first ever tournament like you own the place!.?.! Hell no!" He pointed at Sam. "I challenge you right now!"

"What? _Now?_ But what about the tournament?" Sam questioned, taken back by the dark haired boy's sudden challenge. He then blinked. "I'm your rival?" Izzy chose to ignore that question.

"How about this?" He started, smirking evilly. "You, me, Iggy, and Otto will play a two-on-two match in one of my favorite games."

"Huh!.? Why do _we_ have to play too!.?" Otto and Iggy demanded.

"Shaddap!" The elder brother shouted before turning back to Sam. "If you win, I'll give you the tournament's prize, a DS with a copy of Feel the Magic."

"**WHAT!.?.!**" Those participating in the tournament roared, voicing their protests.

"Wait, 'Feel the Magic?' What's that game about?" Otto asked, raising an eyebrow. Everybody gave him a weirded out look. "_What?.!_"

"Whaddya _think_ it's about?.!" Iggy snapped. The older boy stood there thinking for a bit before gasping.

"Ohhhhhh…" He nodded in understanding. His eyebrow went up again. "They got games about _that_!.?"

"Mainly in Japan." The other male answered.

(A/N: Despite the suggestive name, I'm pretty sure Feel the Magic isn't about _that_, so don't quote me on it.)

The crowd continued to roar at the quartet.

"SILENCE!.!.!" Izzy yelled, turning back to the blond. "So whaddya say?" He held out a hand. "Do we have a match?"

"Ummm… Errr…" Sam stuttered.

"Better hurry up. Either lose to me now or lose against those guys—" Izzy gestured towards the screaming crowd with his other hand. "—before you even come close to winning the DS."

"What do you think, Otto?" The shorter of the two rivals said to the redhead.

"Well, I need that DS now… And who knows how long this tournament will last?" Otto thought it over before putting on a determined expression. "Let's do it!"

"You heard him." Sam told the taller brunet. "I accept your challenge." He shook the other male's hand.

"Wait, the DS is for _him_?" Izzy pointed at Otto, who nodded.

"Oh, I get it!" Iggy gasped in realization. "It's for Lars, isn't it? _That's_ what you've been looking for!"

"Right again." Otto confirmed with another nod.

"Oops… If I knew _that_, I would've given it to ya…" Izzy mumbled to himself. He shook his head and smirked. "Well sorry to disappoint you, but _I'm_ gonna win this little duel."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, dude." The redhead retorted with his own smirk. The brunet growled in response. "By the way, what track are we racing on?"

"Heh, heh, heh…" The elder brother snickered. "Who said anything about Double Dash?"

"Huh?" Otto felt the color draining from his face. "W-we're not playing that?"

"Of course not!" Iggy shouted. "Even if it _is_ the most popular game in town—Though how the hell does it remain popular after being out for like a year?—racing gets boring after awhile!"

"Right." Izzy agreed. "We're playing an entirely different game." Otto gulped in response.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sam protested. "That's the only game he's ever played! He'll be at a disadvantage!"

"Oh well." The older Yaoi Brother shrugged. "Ya shoulda thought about that before accepting my challenge."

"But—" Otto tried.

"Come on! Let's get to the game!" Izzy interrupted, moving towards the elevator, followed by his brother. Before entering, he turned to the referee. "Make sure no one bothers us."

"But what about the tournament?" The official asked. "The National Gamers' Association won't like this sudden turn of events."

"I'll worry about _them_. Your job is to do whatever I say while you're here, and I say don't let anyone enter this elevator. Got it?"

"Yes sir." The man nodded.

"Good." Izzy joined his brother inside. Otto and Sam followed, despite the heavy feelings in their stomachs. It felt like somebody put a massive weight in both of them. Suddenly, they weren't sure of their victory anymore.

As they entered the elevator, the two extreme sports enthusiasts wanted nothing more than for it to get stuck, just so that they didn't have to face off against the brothers, who most likely wanted to play a game they can easily beat the blond and redhead in. Izzy pressed the button for the fourth floor, causing the doors to close. The elevator shook and vibrated as it lifted the two teams to their destination.

"The fourth floor, huh?" Iggy said to his brother. "That's the fighting game floor." He then leaned in close and whispered, "You're not going to use _that_ room, are ya?"

"Of course I am. That's why I had it built in the first place!" Izzy hissed. "So that I can get some well-deserved revenge." He sniggered at the other two boys, who were also whispering to each other.

"So it's a fighting game we're playing, huh?" Sam commented.

"Uhhh Squid, I don't think I can do this." Otto said, getting second thoughts. "I have no clue what we're gonna play."

"Come on! Don't give up! Remember who you're doing this for!"

"Who I'm doing this for?" The skater repeated. "I know exactly who I'm doing this for. I'm playing so that I can get Lars his Christmas present!"

"Huh?" The Yaoi Brothers said, turning towards him after hearing that.

"That's right!" Otto yelled at them, clenching both fists. "I'm doing this for the guy I love! This is my last hope to get a DS and I'm not about to let _you_ two ruin things for me! Go ahead and throw whatever you want at me! I'll take it and dish it right back at ya doubly as hard!"

"Heh. Admirable, very admirable." Izzy chuckled. "We'll see if your determination pays off in the end."

"Oh it will."

The elevator shook to a stop and opened.

"We'll see about that."

The quartet walked out of the elevator. The room consisted of several doorways, each decorated with mistletoe. Couches and vending machines were placed by every archway. Curiously, one wall in the room was bare. Nothing was standing by it. The two brothers walked up to this wall. Izzy put his hand against it and pushed. That part of the wall sunk in. The owner of the arcade retreated his hand, causing a whirring sound to be heard by everyone. To the great surprise of Otto and Sam, the wall slid to the right, revealing a secret room.

"Well, shall we enter?" Izzy said, turning to them. He and Iggy walked inside. Otto and Sam went in after them.

The lights inside the room turned on. A big screen TV was seen standing by the right wall. On either side of it was a speaker that looked like it belonged in a movie theater instead of a small room. Across from it was a platform that had danger strips lined along the bottom. Wires were connected to it. Four posts were pointing towards it from the ceiling. They were lined up horizontally and were parallel to designated spots on the platform. In front of the platform was a pedestal. Standing on top of it was a Gamecube. Connected to it were four controllers. It was also connected to the TV.

"Hey, are we supposed to play while standing on that thing?" Otto asked, pointing at the platform.

"Yep." Iggy answered.

"But where are the chairs?" Sam asked.

"There aren't any." Izzy replied. "This room is designed to test one's endurance. So I hope you don't get tired standing."

He walked onto the platform and grabbed the first controller. Iggy followed and took the second one. Giving each other an unsure look, Sam and Otto stepped on and grabbed the third and fourth controllers respectively.

"Now what?" Otto said to the brothers.

"System activate!" Izzy shouted, ignoring his question. The TV turned on and showed a blue screen that had a single bar in the middle.

"_Initiating voice recognition protocol._" A female voice said. The bar on the screen moved as it spoke. "_Please state the password._"

"Yaoi rules, yuri drools." Both brothers answered. An hourglass appeared onscreen as the computer processed the response.

"Hey Squid, what's yuri?" Otto asked.

"Judging by their password, it must be the opposite of yaoi." Sam replied, shrugging.

"Let's see… If yaoi involves guys getting together, then yuri must involve…" The redhead gasped and turned to the brothers. "You're straight and you _hate_ that sort of thing!.?"

"Of course we do!" Izzy shouted in disgust. "That stuff's totally perverted!"

"Yeah! How would _you_ like it if we thought something like that about Reggie?.!" Iggy added.

"Believe me, you wouldn't be standing if I caught you thinking something like _that_ about my girlfriend." Sam growled.

"Yeah!" Otto agreed. "That's my sister you're talking about!"

"_Password approved. Welcome, Yaoi Brothers._" The female voice said. Everybody turned to the monitor as the hourglass disappeared and the screen glowed green.

"Initiate Game Program Alpha." Izzy ordered.

"_Initiating… Enjoy your game._" The voice complied as the screen faded.

Seconds later, the Gamecube logo appeared as the platform began to hum.

"Woah!" Otto and Sam yelped as they felt the vibrations.

"What's that all about?" Otto asked when the vibrations ceased.

"Don't worry. You'll find out in due time." Iggy answered, snickering.

Soon the logo left the screen and the game loaded. When the title screen appeared, the auburn haired one read it out loud.

"'Super Smash Brothers: Melee?' That's what we're playing?"

"Diabolical, isn't it?" Izzy asked, chuckling evilly.

"Hardly!" Sam laughed. "This game's a piece of cake to play!"

"It is?" Otto asked.

"Yeah! The controls are simple, so anybody can pick up and play it! I thought they were going to make us play something harder for a second there!" The blond chuckled.

"Oh yeah!.? We'll see who's laughing once this is over!" Izzy yelled, pressing the start button. The menu screen appeared and he immediately went into VS. mode. He then went to the options. "A twenty stock match on Pokémon Stadium. Agreed?"

"Fine." Sam nodded. Izzy proceeded to set up the rules of the match.

"Uhhh… Squid?"

"Yes?" The one in the glasses turned to Otto, feeling that he was about do a lot of talking.

"How does this game work?"

'_How did I know?_' The blond sighed, getting ready to speak.

"Here's how it goes." Iggy said, saving Sam the trouble. "As ya know, Smash Brothers is a fighting game. We each pick a Nintendo related character and throw down against each other on a battlefield, also Nintendo related. The match set up that my brother and your friend agreed on is a team match in which we all have twenty lives each. We'll be fighting on the Pokémon Stadium stage. Are you following?"

"Kinda…" Otto answered.

"The object of the game is to knock your opponents out of the field twenty times. This is done by attacking your opponent in any way possible. That includes using your character's moves, as well as various items that'll randomly appear."

"Woah! We get weapons in this?.!" The redhead asked excitedly.

'_God, what a casual gamer._' Izzy thought, crossing his arms impatiently.

"Uhhh… Yeah…" Iggy replied strangely. "Anyway, as we take damage, it'll be easier for us to get knocked out."

"Then what's the point!.?" Otto demanded.

"The point is to outlast the other team, duh!" Izzy answered for his brother. "Now, are we gonna stand around talking, or are we gonna play!.?"

"Hang on!" Sam yelled at him as he turned to Otto. "Are you sure you're up to this? It may be easy to play this, but it's also easy to mess up." The taller boy nodded.

"Chill Squid. I'll be fine. Let's start this thing. I'm really anxious to take _him_ down a notch!" He replied, glaring at the elder Yaoi Brother, who only smirked in response.

"If you're that anxious to lose, let's pick our characters."

Izzy left the options screen and went to the character select screen. Twenty-five icons were displayed. Pictured on each one was a different Nintendo character. Due to his experience during the summer, Otto only recognized a small fraction of the characters. At the bottom of the screen were four slots. The left half of them was red while the opposite half was blue.

"_Survival._" An announcer's voice said. Due to the speakers, the room shook slightly.

"Hmmm… Now who should I pick?" Izzy said in a teasing manner.

"_You're_ the one who was complaining about waiting too long, bro!" Iggy shouted at him as he made his choice. The younger Yaoi Brother chose to play as the titanic brute, Bowser. The evil spiked turtle appeared in the right red slot as the announcer called his name.

"Oh alright, ya party pooper." The older brother pouted as he made his choice. He picked Ness, the psychic boy from the game Earthbound. The capped child appeared in the left red slot as the announcer said his name.

"Ha! You're picking a little kid!.? This'll be nothing!" Otto scoffed.

"Uh, uh, uhhhh…" The taller brunet shook his left finger in a condoling manner. "Have you ever heard the old saying, 'Big things come in small packages'?"

"He's right, ya know." Sam whispered. "He picked a pretty powerful character."

"Hmph. There's no way I'm gonna lose." Otto bragged, that Rocket confidence shining brighter than any Christmas light he's seen today. He gulped as he got ready to pick his character.

He wasn't exactly sure who to play as mainly because he's never seen any of these characters fight, so he had no idea if their moves would help him in battle. He decided to play it safe with the Mario characters. Of course, he suffered the same problem there as well. He may have played a game that featured them, but it was a _racing_ game, not a fighting game or whichever genre the Mario games were considered.

So, with a simple shrug and a silent prayer that he and Sam would win, he picked the red-clad plumber, Mario, one of the very same characters he used to race against Lars all those months ago. As the game's announcer said his name, he appeared at the right end of the screen. Sam made his choice faster than everyone else. He picked to play as that lovable scourge of parent's purses (at least in 1998-99), Pikachu. As soon as the electric rodent appeared onscreen, a low growl filled the air.

'_Pikachu…_' Izzy hissed inwardly, shaking a fist. '_Since day one, that thing has been a constant plague on my life._' He glared at Sam, who was discussing his strategy with Otto. '_I'll personally destroy him for picking that thing._' He cleared his throat in an attempt to keep a straight face. Truth was, he wanted to punch Sam for insulting him like this, but he kept his cool. '_Just wait until he experiences the extra feature of this room._' He smirked.

"Alright, if everybody's ready, it's time to duel!" He yelled, punching the air. It was silent as the other three looked at him weirdly. Turning to them, he sighed as he put down his fist. "What now?"

"That was lame." Otto voiced the others' thoughts.

"Yeah." Sam and Iggy agreed.

"I never get to have any fun…" Izzy sulked, lowering his head.

"We're about to fight them and you say you never get to have fun!.?" His brother demanded.

"But I can't be cool and animé-like about it…" The older brunet said, pressing the tips of his pointing fingers close together (he put the controller down before doing this). The others slapped their heads.

"Quit your whining and press Start already!" Otto ordered.

"Yeah! We got loved ones to be with, ya know!" Sam added.

"You guys can start the match too!" Izzy snapped, picking up his controller. The redhead turned to the blond, who blinked in realization.

"Oh yeah!" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I forgot about that!" He laughed sheepishly as the others raised an eyebrow.

"Oh screw this! _I'll_ start the match!" Otto shouted. He gulped as his right thumb lowered towards the tiny button in the center of the controller. "Here goes nothing."

He pressed the button, causing the screen to fade out.

To be concluded…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mid-chapter Conversation

Part One

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!" Izzy sang in a drunken daze. "Oh what fun is it to ride in a one horse cabbage!"

Iggy and I looked at him with eyebrows raised before turning back to our chat session.

_I think you may have hit him too hard._ The younger brother wrote. I glared at him.

_YOU'RE the one who wanted him to shut up!_ I replied with an angry face.

_Heh, heh. Sorry._ He wrote, adding in a smiley face that was sweatdropping. _By the way, I thought you said this was gonna be the last chapter. What happened?_

I shrugged before telling him, _To be honest,_ _I didn't think the chapter was gonna be so long. After all, I still gotta do your and Izzy's battle against Otto and Sam. Gotta give the people what they want without taking too much of their time._

Iggy raised an eyebrow before asking, _What makes you think the readers want action? Don't they want to see Otto and Lars make out?_

I glowered at him. _Please don't turn into Izzy. It's bad enough I have to listen to HIM on a daily basis._

_Right. Sorry._ Iggy apologized, scratching his head.

I walked up to the camera and wrote on my DS before holding it up.

_Merry Christmas, folks! With any luck, I'll be able to get the last bit of this story written up and posted before New Year's!_

I was about to walk away before I stopped and scribbled a quick message.

_Thanks, deana for the reviews. I'll try to write as much detail as possible when I get to that scene. Also, I'd love to write a sequel to Maurice is Missing, if only I could get an idea._

I waved before writing another message.

_Til next chapter!_


	4. The Electrifying Rematch, Pt 2

Mid-chapter Conversation

Part Two

"Alright!" Izzy said as he stretched his legs. "It's time to fight Sam. This time, I won't lose."

"Yeah sure." Iggy said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this Izzy?" I asked as the older brother stretched his arms. "I mean, judging by what's about to happen, it may be best to quit while you're ahead."

"No way, Boss!" Izzy replied, reaching for his toes. "I'm gonna beat Blondie once and for all. I'm gonna get my revenge." I shrugged.

"Ok… If you say so…" I sighed before turning to the camera. "Anyway, despite what I said last update, this isn't the last chapter."

"Eeesh." Iggy said, looking at the script. "This one's humongous!"

"That's why it's not the last chapter." I told him.

"Come on, Iggy!" Izzy said, getting ready to exit the studio. "I feel pumped! I'm gonna destroy Sam this time! I can feel it!" He laughed evilly as he left. Iggy and I looked at each other.

"What are the odds of Izzy and me beating Sam and Otto?" My secondary fan character asked.

"About the same as the odds of me getting more than one review for this chapter or Izzy admitting he likes Keoni." I answered before turning to the camera. "See ya later!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Otto's Christmas Quest

Chapter Three

The Electrifying Rematch

Part Two

In the lobby of the arcade, the angry patrons turned to the screen behind the stage, which was showing the room Otto, Sam, and the Yaoi Brothers were in. The contestants only saw the backs of the players' heads. On the right side of the screen, a scorecard appeared. From top to bottom, a picture of Izzy, Iggy, Sam, and Otto's faces were shown. Next to each of their pictures were the faces of the characters they were playing as, as well as a number twenty. Immediately, the viewers recognized the game the quartet was getting ready to play.

The screen switched its view to the battlefield. It was a medium-sized green field that was suspended on a single pillar over a deep dark pit. In the middle of it was a picture of a poké ball. Two platforms floated near the center. Surrounding the field was a stadium full of people. A screen like the ones the tournament participants were watching was in the background. Also in the background were buildings, as well as the night sky. Fireworks shot up every few seconds.

Soon, the players' characters appeared onscreen. Ness and Pikachu were standing on the field across from each other while Bowser and Mario were on the platforms. The Yaoi Brothers' characters were on the left side of the screen while Sam and Otto's were on the right. The Pokémon theme was playing in the background.

"So they're playing Melee, huh?" A random audience member said. "I hope the Yaoi Brothers win!"

"Duh! We ALL want the Yaoi Brothers to win!" Another audience member exclaimed. "If they lose, I won't get my DS!"

"**YOUR** DS!.?.!" Everybody else yelled. "YOU MEAN MINE!.!.!" Everybody gasped and looked at each other. They all gave each other looks of extreme malice and distaste. It was silent as they glared at each other, each person angry because everybody else had the gall to say that the grand prize belonged to them.

A few seconds passed before the whole lobby erupted into a full scale battle.

Upstairs…

'_At long last, after three months of planning and training, I finally get to have my revenge._' Izzy thought as he gripped his controller tightly. '_Iggy better have done that thing I told him do in here._'

'_There was something Izzy wanted me to do in this room in case the opportunity to fight Sam ever arose._' Iggy thought, tilting his head in thought. '_But what was it?_' He shrugged. '_Oh well. It was about a month ago, so he probably did it himself._'

'_I hope Otto will be alright._' Sam thought, adjusting his glasses. '_I mean, he has no idea how to play this game._' He sighed. '_I guess I'm on my own then…_'

'_There's no way I'm gonna lose!_' Otto thought, staring straight ahead with a determined expression. '_I gotta get that DS for Lars! That's all that matters!_'

"_Three…_" The announcer began the countdown.

'_Finally, the moment of truth._' Izzy snickered inwardly.

"_Two…_"

'_What was it Izzy wanted me to do!.?_' Iggy asked himself, scratching his head.

"_One…_"

'_Here goes nothing!_' Otto thought. He blinked when a sudden thought came to him.

"_GO!.!.!_"

"Here I come!" Izzy yelled, making his character dash forward.

"I'm ready for ya!" Sam shouted, directing Pikachu towards the psychic. A malicious grin made its way onto Izzy's face as the characters inched closer and closer.

'_It's time!_'

They were mere centimeters apart when…

"Hey! Hold on!" Otto said, pausing the game. Izzy and Sam turned to him.

"What is it NOW!.?.!" The former roared. The latter rolled his eyes before looking at his friend.

"What's up, Ottoman?"

"I meant to ask you guys something." The redhead directed to the brothers.

"What?" They both asked.

"You said that if me and Sam won, you'd give me the DS, right?"

"Yeah…" The brunets replied.

"But you never told us what would happen if we lose, not that'll happen."

"Is _that_ all?.!" Izzy asked exasperatedly, ignoring that last comment.

"Ya coulda asked us that while we were playing, ya know." Iggy added.

"He did raise a good point though." Sam defended. "What _does_ happen if we lose?"

"Simple. If ya lose, you'll be disqualified from the tournament." Izzy replied.

"Disqualified!.?" The blond and redhead yelled.

"Did I stutter? Yes, disqualified!"

"Guess we only have one shot at this…" Sam commented.

"One shot's all we need, Squid!" Otto told him.

"Yeah right." Izzy and Iggy scoffed.

"You two ain't so tough!"

"Pffft! You'll be eating those words as soon as you unpause the game." The older brother retorted.

"So come on! We're wasting enough time as it is!" Iggy rushed. "We still got the tournament to run!"

"Alright already! Sheesh!" Otto rolled his eyes before pressing the button. Everybody else turned back to the screen as the action resumed.

Pikachu went for a head-butt, but Ness rolled out of the way. Izzy then made the boy jump towards Mario and deliver a hard kick. As soon as contact was made, Otto felt a small prick.

'_What the…?_' He shrugged it off and focused on the screen.

He pressed the A button, hoping Mario would fight Ness off. Mario went for a right hook, but again Ness dodged the attack. The psychic raised both hands, preparing an attack.

"_PK Fire!_" The boy shouted, shooting a lightning bolt towards the plumber. The attack hit, causing Mario to catch fire.

As the column of fire caused damage to Mario, Otto felt another strange sensation. It felt like a mosquito bite, but he felt the pain all over his body.

'_Ugh… What's going on?_'

As Izzy continued to pummel Otto, Sam was having difficulty hitting Iggy. Despite the obvious difference in speed their characters possessed, the blond couldn't hit the younger boy. Pikachu jumped and went for a whack with its tail, but Bowser jumped out of the way and landed on the field. Iggy smirked as he watched Sam grit his teeth in frustration out of the corner of his eye.

"What's the matter, mad because I'm too fast for your pokémon?" He snickered as he dodged another attack. This time a thunder jolt.

"Grr… Stay still already!" Sam grunted.

He guided Pikachu towards the Koopa King in an attempt to make a hit. The electric mouse was about to perform a head-butt when Bowser struck it with a downwards sweep. The pokémon was sent back a few inches. Sam felt a strange burning after the attack.

'_Something's wrong here._' He thought.

He shook his head and got back to the battle. A beam sword appeared on the ground. Before Iggy can move to collect it, Sam grabbed it. The blond then made Pikachu run up to Bowser and swing it. Unfortunately, Iggy anticipated the attack. He made Bowser jump a few inches towards the mouse and performed a massive hip drop. The attack hit and Sam felt another burning feeling. This time it was stronger.

'_Why do I feel this pain?_' He thought, shutting his eyes. He only felt more pain as his character took more damage. Groaning slightly, he forced his eyes open and jumped just in time. Pikachu dodged a stream of Bowser's fire breath.

'_Yes! My plan's working!_' Izzy cheered inwardly, watching his opponents out the corner of his eye.

He took a quick look at the bottom of his screen, which displayed the amount of damage everyone's taken. So far, Otto was at fifty percent damage, while Sam had around forty percent. The numbers were growing steadily bigger and bigger. He and Iggy still haven't taken damage.

'_Hmmmm__… I think it's time I revealed my little secret._' He smirked and made his character jump away from Mario after bashing him with Ness's baseball bat.

'_Ow!_' Otto seethed, shaking his head. '_What's the deal?.! Every time I get hit, I get hurt!_'

Noticing that Ness was retreating, he made Mario run after him.

'_Let's see what the B button does._'

Otto pressed the button, causing Mario to shoot a fireball out of his hand. Ness jumped over the attack and moved backwards towards the plumber. Before the redhead could defend himself, Izzy made the psychic kick Mario hard. The result was another prick. This time, Otto felt like he literally got kicked in the face.

'_Come on! Why am getting hurt?.!_'

'_Let's go already! I need something to knock him out!_' Izzy thought, dodging Otto's attacks. The skater fired multiple fireballs, which Ness hopped out of the way of. '_He's starting to get the hang of things. If I'm not careful, he'll actually land a hit._'

Rolling under another barrage of fire, the psychic ran up to the plumber and got him with punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Otto was continuously feeling more and more pain. Gritting his teeth, he looked towards Sam, who didn't seem to be fairing any better. Bowser was pummeling Pikachu with repeated slashes and bites, and Sam kept feeling this weird burning sensation. It almost felt like his insides were on fire.

'_Ok, this is definitely strange!_' The blond thought, rolling away from the turtle. He had lost the beam sword he had earlier due to Bowser's repeated strikes. Iggy was being relentless in his fighting. A quick look at the bottom of the screen caused Sam to gasp.

'_No way! We haven't caused any damage to either of them!.?_'

Both brunets were still at zero damage while Sam and Otto were nearing a hundred percent!

'_This can't be!_' He groaned inwardly as he felt another prick. Playing it safe, he made Pikachu roll away from Bowser, dodging a hit from the reptile's flaming breath. He kept Iggy at bay by firing lightning bolts, which sparked across the field.

"Oh no ya don't!" The younger Yaoi Brother said, making the Koopa jump onto the left platform. He then smirked when he noticed how close Otto's character was. He made Bowser jump towards Mario and delivered a great punch that knocked the red-clad plumber away. Ignoring the new jolts of pain, Otto panicked as Mario started to fall out of bounds.

'_Oh crap! There's gotta be something I can do!_'

He pushed the control stick to the left and pressed every button in a faint attempt to get back to the stage. Just when hope seemed lost, he hit the Y button, causing Mario to perform a double jump and grab the edge of the field. Otto sighed with relief.

"Whew… That was close."

"Think again!" Izzy shouted with an evil laugh. Otto's eyes widened when he noticed Ness, who was practically on top of Mario, pull out a yo-yo. The boy onscreen spun the toy and held it behind him for a few moments before letting it fly. It hit Mario's hands, causing him to fly all the way towards the end of the screen. A beam of light shot out as the plumber disappeared. That was when the redhead felt the greatest pain he's experienced since the match started.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!" He screamed as a bolt of lightning shot out of the port above him and struck him. Sam faced him in horror as he glowed yellow from the discharge. His teeth were gritted as he felt the stinging slap. Soon, the lightning stopped and Otto was gasping for air. Small amounts of electricity were crackling around his body for a moment before fading. His dreadlocks stiffened slightly.

"Otto! Are you alright!.?" Sam asked, pausing the game. The redhead caught his breath and hunched over as he turned to his friend.

"Do I _look_ ok!.? I just got hit with like a hundred volts of electricity!"

"Actually, it was more like ten." Otto and Sam faced Izzy and Iggy, who were chuckling. The younger brother was the one to correct him.

"You _knew_ that would happen, didn't you?.!" Sam yelled. "What's with this room, anyway, and why did Otto just get shocked like that!.?"

"I thought you would've figured it out by now." Izzy answered, giving him a defiant smirk. "This room is actually a training area I had built sometime ago. I would train in it night and day, trying to improve myself for the next time I would face you."

"You didn't answer my question." The blond hissed, shaking his hands angrily.

"Duh! Every time you get hit, you'll get shocked with electricity!" The taller boy replied. "The more severe the attack, the higher the voltage!" He laughed teasingly. "Of course, the highest amounts of electricity are saved for when you lose a life. Oh, and let's not forget what'll happen when you lose _all_ of your lives."

"Are you crazy!.?"

"No." Izzy answered calmly. "I want vengeance! Like I said earlier, you ruined my reputation. This is the only way my heart will heal from the loss."

"Some vendetta." Sam started, rolling his eyes. "You're gonna kill me and Otto over a stupid game?"

To that, both brothers laughed.

"_Kill you?.!_ You think I wanna kill you!.?" Izzy said when his laughter was under control. "Of course not! It's bad for business."

"We'd get arrested." Iggy supplied.

"Besides, it doesn't even hurt that much. It's just a tiny shock."

"How would _you_ know?.!" Otto yelled. "_You_ didn't get hit yet!"

"Tch, tch, tch…" The taller boy shook his finger. "Oh I've gotten shocked before. Like I said, I trained in this room for a long time. Every time I got hit or made a mistake in whichever game I played, I'd get zapped. The worse the hit or the mistake, the bigger the shock. Of course, the shock was never ever big enough to actually cause any injury."

"But you're still inflicting pain on yourself." Sam said.

"It's no worse than the pain you gave me." Izzy defended.

"And what about your brother?"

"What _about_ me?" Iggy asked.

"Dude, your brother's actually putting you through this!" Otto shouted incredulously. "Aren't you scared that you'd get shocked too?.!"

"Pffft! Whaddya take me for?.!" Izzy scoffed. "A month ago, I made Iggy set it up so that _we_ couldn't get shocked if we were to actually get hit!"

Iggy's eyes widened in horror as he gasped.

'_Oh God, **that's** what he told me to do! Shut off the system for our half of the platform!_' He thought, gulping. '_If we get hit, we're gonna get shocked!_'

He hid his face, which still had that fear-stricken expression on it.

"You cheater!" Otto protested. "Just because Squid beat ya fair and square, you're gonna cheat to win!.?"

"'Cheater'?" Izzy repeated, grinning. "I'm not cheating. I like to think of it as using my surroundings to my advantage."

"Well I won't have any part in this." Sam said, putting down his controller. He crossed his arms as he turned away. "If you're not going to play fair, then I won't fight you." He helped Otto stand up. "Come on. Let's go back downstairs and get ready for the tournament." He got ready to walk.

"Leave this platform and you'll never get that DS." The owner of the arcade said. "If you don't play this match to the end, you won't be allowed to play in the tournament."

"Then we'll go home." Sam retorted, facing him. "I'm not putting my friend through this just for some toy. Besides, there's still time to find one."

"Did you forget what today is? All the stores have closed by now." Izzy smirked. "As it stands, winning this match is the only way you'll get that system." Sam glared at him.

"Look, it's not—"

"Sam, it's ok." Otto interrupted, standing without Sam's help. "Let's keep playing." Sam turned to him with a frightful look.

"But Otto—"

"I'll be fine. A little pain won't stop me." He grinned proudly as he picked up his controller and handed Sam's his. The blond gulped as he accepted it and turned to the screen.

"Ok…" He said nervously. He then smirked as he added, "You owe me for this."

"Yeah, I know." Otto replied, keeping his grin. He looked over his friend's shoulder at the brothers. "Alright, we're ready when you are."

Iggy shook his head as he and Izzy turned to the TV.

"Fine." The elder brother said. "There's just one thing though."

"What?" The redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Blondie's the one who paused the game!"

"Oh yeah! Forgot about that!" Both members of the second team said, rubbing the back of their heads. The Yaoi Brothers slapped their heads.

"Just press Start." Iggy said plainly.

And so, the game continued. Mario reappeared on the battlefield and immediately went after Ness in a bid for revenge. The psychic boy was ready for him though. He tossed his yo-yo upwards, knocking the plumber back on the right platform and causing Otto to suffer another shock. The skater quickly shook it off and used Mario Tornado in an attempt to knock Ness for a loop. Izzy blocked the attack by raising Ness's barrier, a red bubble that shrunk after every hit from Mario's move. When the attack ended, he struck Otto with another PK Fire. While Mario was preoccupied by the column of fire, Izzy charged up his character's smash move. Being shocked by the damage he received from the brunet's previous attack, Otto couldn't defend against the incoming attack. Ness whacked Mario with his baseball bat.

"Ugh!" The redheaded player grunted, feeling another shock.

"Hang on!" Sam called, propelling Pikachu towards Ness.

"Wait up!" Iggy shouted, making Bowser use his Koopa Klaw attack. The evil king took a swing and grabbed the pokémon. The brunet grinned as he added, "Stay awhile."

He then made Bowser bite Pikachu repeatedly. Because the damage inflicted was small, Sam didn't get shocked too badly. However, the damage was quickly adding up and he already had over a hundred percent of damage. Ignoring the sharp burning pain, he mashed the buttons in an attempt to get free. Bowser held on tight on however. Smirking, Iggy made the king toss Pikachu to the left. The blond gasped when he noticed the mouse fly off the stage.

"You won't beat me that easily!" He said, using the electric type's up and B move. Pikachu charged energy and then darted in the air towards the field. It started falling safely towards the ground.

"Sorry, you're getting knocked out!" Izzy yelled, moving away from Otto. He directed Ness underneath Pikachu and pressed the B button.

"_PK Flash!_" The boy called, squatting as he held his head.

A green flash of light appeared from seemingly nowhere and got bigger as it floated. Sam tried to move Pikachu away from the blast zone, but the pokémon only moved slightly to the right. When it was in range, Izzy let get of the button, causing a brilliant flash to illuminate the area around Ness. Pikachu suffered a massive blow and was knocked upwards. It went so high; it flew into the background and became a star. Sam screamed in pain not only from the shock of the mouse getting hit, but by the bolt of lightning that struck him when Pikachu was knocked out of the field.

"Oooooohhh! That felt good!" Izzy said, shivering in delight.

"Squid, you ok?" Otto asked, trying to avoid Iggy, who went after him.

"I've been better…" Sam groaned, standing straight up. He shook his head and turned back to the fight as Pikachu reappeared.

The fight pretty much continued like that for some time. The Yaoi Brothers would ruthlessly attack Otto and Sam with their characters' moves, as well as any weapons that would appear. The redhead learned the hard way to avoid bob-ombs and red shells. They suffered shock after shock as the two brothers remained unscathed. Izzy and Iggy used every advantage they had. They used poké balls, hammers, and cloaking devices to lay the hurt on their opponents. Slowly but surely, the blond and redhead were losing lives while the brunets had yet to even get hit.

The crowd downstairs, who was covered in bruises and cuts, was cheering. They all hoped that the owners of the arcade would bring a quick end to the fight so that they can finally do what they came here to do. Play in the tournament and try to win the hottest Christmas present. It was quickly becoming apparent that the siblings would claim victory. It made sense. After all, Otto and Sam were hardly putting up a fight. This was due, of course, to the fact that they kept getting shocked every few seconds. They just couldn't concentrate on fighting Izzy and Iggy.

'_Ha! This is a lot easier than I thought it would be!_' Izzy cheered inwardly.

By now, Otto and Sam have each lost five lives. They were burnt from head to toe. Their clothes were blackened. Soot covered most of their faces. They were dead tired. Their legs wobbled weakly as they struggled just to keep standing, let alone keep up the fight. Their bodies ached, crying out for freedom from this torment. Otto refused to give up though!

'_It can't end like this._' He thought, reeling from his latest shock. '_I have to win._'

His relationship with Lars was on the line! If he didn't give him something tomorrow, the brunet might think that he didn't care and leave him for someone else. Ok, maybe that was the paralysis talking, but he didn't care. He HAD to win and give Lars the ultimate symbol of his affection! His eyes flared with great fury and determination. He won't fail the love of his life! He couldn't! He wouldn't!

'_I'm not gonna fail._' He made Mario run towards Ness, who was getting ready to execute his smash attack. '_I won't lose!.!.!_'

As Ness swung his bat, Otto surprised everybody by rolling under the attack. Before anybody can do anything, Mario used _his_ smash attack, a hard punch. The attack struck Ness hard!

"What the—!.?" Izzy shouted in surprise. A few seconds passed before electricity crackled at his feet. "Huh?"

"You got hit!.?" Iggy yelped.

"Come on, Otto!" Sam rooted.

Izzy panicked as the plumber used the Mario Tornado to repeatedly strike Ness. The boy onscreen got hit with punch after punch before getting knocked into the air.

"Yeowch!" The older brother shouted, feeling the pain. Otto quickly followed up his attack with a couple upward smashes, successfully juggling Izzy's character. Mario knocked Ness into the air a couple more times before ending with his Super Jump Punch, a move that struck repeatedly while tossing the capped boy higher in the air.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Izzy cursed, gritting his teeth. Mario landed on one of the platforms just as a bob-omb appeared. Otto grabbed the bomb and tossed it at Ness, causing a great explosion that caused the psychic to fall into the background.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!" The brunet screamed as he got hit with a bolt of lightning. "IGGY! WHY AM I GETTING SHOCKED!.?.!.?.! I TOLD YOU TO CUT THE POWER ON THIS SIDE!.!.!.!"

Iggy gulped as the lightning strike ended and his brother's body was smoking.

"Y-you see…" He stuttered under his brother's glare. "I forgot?" He shrugged sheepishly.

"Forgot!.?.! How could you forget a simple thing like that!.?"

"Well, well, well…" Sam snickered, giving the Yaoi Brothers a defiant grin. "Looks like you two can get shocked as well."

"Heh, you're in for it now." Otto added with an evil grin. Both siblings gulped and turned to each other.

"Quick! Cut the juice before it's too late!" Izzy yelled at Iggy.

"Uh, uh, uhhh…" Sam started, shaking his finger the same way the taller brunet was a few moments ago. "If any of you leave the platform, you'll forfeit the match and the DS."

"Crap. He's right…" Izzy growled, clenching a fist.

"Bust!.!.!" Otto laughed teasingly. The brothers glared at their opponents.

"Fine! We'll continue the match." The elder one said.

"But that doesn't mean you'll win just because we can get zapped too!" The younger one supplied.

"We'll see about that." Otto mocked.

Everybody turned back to the game and continued.

Meanwhile, outside…

"Man, I can't believe your flight came in today." Twister commented. "I almost got there late because of all the traffic, not to mention all the people that were at the airport!"

He was walking along the Strand, holding hands with another boy who was about Otto's height. He had skin that was a lighter brown than Lars' skin. It was almost bronze-like. His hair was also brown. It was smooth and went in two separate directions. He was wearing a slightly tattered blue vest over a light violet shirt. He was also wearing a pair of khaki shorts.

"I told you it was coming in today, brah." He said.

"No, you said it was coming in tomorrow." Twister denied. The other boy gave him a strange look.

"Now why would I want to inconvenience you on Christmas, babe?"

"Keoni, I heard what you said. When you called last week, you said you were coming in on Christmas and then there was static. I'm not deaf, ya know."

"I wasn't saying you were deaf." Keoni told him. "I was simply saying that you misinterpreted what I said, that's all."

"And I'm telling you I heard you loud and clear. You said Christmas!" Twister retorted as they faced each other.

"I said Christmas Eve!" Keoni argued.

"Christmas!"

"Christmas Eve!"

"Christmas!"

"Christmas Eve!"

"Christmas!"

"Christ—! Look," Keoni sighed, holding his head with his other hand. "Let's just forget about it. All that matters is that I'm with you for a month and I want to spend as much time as possible by your side."

"Yeah, you're right." Twister nodded before grinning. "I can't wait til tomorrow to give you your present!"

"And what is it, anyway?" The brunet asked, raising an eyebrow. The redhead winked at him.

"Sorry, it's a secret."

"Aw come on." Keoni faked a groan. "Tell me."

"Nope sorry. You'll just have to wait til tomorrow." Twister grinned. The shorter boy was about to continue this when his expression turned devilish.

"Well maybe there's some way I can persuade you to change your mind." He said, tracing a finger along the taller boy's chest. Twister shivered in pleasure.

"I-I think w-we c-could c-come to an agreement…" He stuttered under his lover's gaze.

"Good…" Keoni purred. "And maybe I can give you _your_ Christmas present tonight." His hand rubbed the other boy's cheek.

"S-sounds g-g-good to m-m-me…" Twister began to sweat.

"Cool…" The brunet reached up and planted a kiss on his boyfriend's cheeks. He then pulled Twister along. "Now come on! I wanna see that arcade you told me about!"

'_How does he do that?_' Twister wondered as he let Keoni drag him through the Strand. '_He always gets so sexy and then he just switches topics like nothing even happened._' He shrugged. '_Oh well… That's why I love him!_'

He grinned as he walked alongside Keoni. The couple continued along, looking at all the store windows in awe, despite the fact all the designs were dark. They were about halfway through the area when a bunch of kids passed them, conversing about a fight. They were followed by several teens and even some adults.

"I wonder what's everybody excited about." Keoni said, turning to Twister, who shrugged.

"I have no idea." He said confusedly, watching a few more kids run past them.

"Oh man! We gotta hurry up and get there before it ends!" A voice was heard as three boys ran past them.

"Yeah! The ultimate rematch!" Another one yelled.

"Think they'll have food?" The third kid asked.

"Duh! The fight's in the arcade! Of course they'll have food!" The first kid shouted.

"But if both of them are fighting those two guys, who's supposed to serve me?"

"Oh well! You could stand to lose a few pounds anyway." The second kid said.

"Take that back!" The third kid snapped.

"Make me!"

"Grrr…"

"Will you two stop it and come on!" The first kid yelled. "We're gonna miss the best part!"

"We're coming!" The other two kids replied.

"Guess it's a fight everybody's going to." Keoni summarized.

"And it's at the arcade." Twister added.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go watch!" The brunet said, dragging the taller boy along. Twister struggled to keep the pace as they continued until they reached the Yaoi Brothers arcade. Keoni looked at all the decorations in awe. "Wow, whoever these 'Yaoi Brothers' are, they went all out."

"Uh… Yeah…" Twister panted, leaning against his boyfriend. After catching his breath, he and Keoni walked inside.

As they walked through the front hall, the two lovers heard cheers echoing throughout the room. When they entered the main area, they noticed that the whole area was packed. All eyes were focused on the big screen behind the stage. It was currently showing the fight in the game. All of the players currently had over a hundred percent of damage. Ness and Bowser each had fifteen lives remaining while Pikachu was holding steady at thirteen. Mario was in last place with only eleven lives remaining. Ness was battling Pikachu while Bowser and Mario were going at it. All four players seemed to be fighting ferociously, which was just fine with the screaming crowd.

"_That's_ all? A video game?" Twister pouted in disappointment.

"It makes sense." Keoni shrugged. "After all, this _is_ an arcade."

"Yeah, good point…" The one in the hat agreed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I wonder who's playing though."

As if to answer Keoni's question, the camera switched to the players, who were all getting shocked. They only saw the backs of the quartet's heads.

"You know," The brunet started. "I think I recognize those two guys on the right." He pointed at the blond and redhead.

"Yeah. I know what ya mean." Twister agreed with a nod. "Those guys look a lot like Squid and Otto."

They continued watching the action for a few seconds before snapping their heads at each other.

"**Squid and Otto!.?.!.?.!**"

They turned back to the screen, which showed everybody getting blown off the field by an electrode. The camera switched its view to behind everyone as bolts of lightning struck all four of them. The camera then showed individual shots of the players. Twister and Keoni gasped when they saw the looks of pain on Sam and Otto's faces.

"What's happening to them!.?" Twister yelled.

A girl that was sitting nearby turned to them.

"These two guys showed up to participate in the annual tournament." She told them. "When Izzy noticed the blond guy, he went nuts and challenged him and the other guy to a fight in Melee."

"But why are they getting hit with electricity?" Keoni asked. The girl shrugged.

"I guess it's something Izzy set up to get revenge or something."

"And who's Izzy, anyway?"

"Him." The girl pointed at the screen, which showed a close up of the older Yaoi Brother, whose face was scrunched up in pain. Electricity was crackling around him as he screamed.

"Thanks." Twister told the girl, who nodded and turned back to the match. He then turned to Keoni. "I gotta go and get Lars and Reggie! They're not gonna like this, but maybe they can stop the fight."

"Alright. And I'll stay here just in case something happens." Keoni said. Twister turned to run.

"I'll be right back." He exchanged a quick kiss with the other boy before running out through the front hall.

"Hurry back!" The brunet yelled before turning to the screen.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"OW!.!.!" Iggy shouted as he got shocked. He faced his brother. "You were actually in here, torturing yourself!.?"

"Not torturing—Ouch!—Training…" Izzy panted in response.

"And where was I when this was going on!.?" The younger boy asked as he knocked Mario back with Bowser's downwards smash, a quick spin of his shell.

"I always did it when—Yeow!—you were sleeping." The older one answered as he got shocked due to an attack from Pikachu.

"Ow! Don't tell me you shoobies actually LIVE here!" Otto shouted after getting hit by a green shell.

"Whaddya take me for, some kind of geek!.?" Everybody else looked at Izzy with an eyebrow raised. "Don't answer that." He turned back to the screen and tossed Pikachu. "Anyway, I always snuck out of our house every night to come to the arcade and practice. Ouch!" The pokémon had hit Ness with a skull bash.

"And what's a shoobie, anyway?" Iggy asked as he used Bowser's fire breath on Pikachu, shocking Sam.

"Ow! It's skater talk for casual gamer." The blond replied, hitting Ness with a tail whip.

"Ohhhh…" The brothers nodded in understanding. "…HEY!.!.!" They both hit the other team with their smash attacks, knocking them out.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!" Sam and Otto screamed as they got hit by lightning bolts.

"That's what you get for calling us casual gamers." Izzy said.

"The nerve." Iggy added.

"Well you wanted to know what a shoobie was!" Sam retorted when the electricity stopped flowing.

"Why you…!" Otto hissed as he and Sam were brought back to the stage. He used Mario Tornado to knock out Bowser while Sam used Thunder on Ness, also knocking him out.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!.!.!.!" The Yaoi Brothers cried out as they got zapped. As their bodies smoked and crackled with leftover electricity, they glared at Otto and Sam.

"Oh you're gonna get it now!" Iggy yelled.

"Yeah!" Izzy added.

"Bring it on!" Otto shouted.

A poké ball appeared near Ness. Grinning, Izzy grabbed it and toss it ahead of him. The device landed in the center of the field and opened, revealing Ho-oh, one of the legendary pokémon.

"Alright! Things are about to get hot." The older brunet chuckled as the giant bird flew up.

"Why? What happens now?" Otto asked confusedly. Both Yaoi Brothers looked at each other and smirked evilly.

"It's quite simple." Iggy started, turning towards the redhead. "Whoever's standing on the exact same spot Ho-oh appeared will get healed by its majestic flames." He snickered as his and Izzy's characters made their way to the center of the arena.

"Ha! You just messed up big time!" Otto bragged as he propelled Mario over to where Ness and Bowser were standing. Izzy and Iggy's smirks only got bigger.

'_Hey wait a minute…_' Sam thought. '_Ho-oh doesn't heal anybody. It—_' He gasped when he realized the brothers' trick.

"Otto! Get away from there!"

But it was too late.

In mere seconds, a pillar of flames erupted where the other three characters were standing. It shot up into the sky. Since it was their pokémon, Izzy and Iggy weren't harmed. Otto, on the other hand…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!" He screamed as he got shocked repeatedly.

It may not have been same as getting knocked out, but it might as well have been. The damage racked up quickly as Ho-oh's attack continued. When it finally ended, Iggy took advantage of Otto's dazed state and knocked out Mario with a massive head-butt. The Rocket's screams of pain continued as he got struck by lightning yet again.

"Too easy." Izzy bragged, blowing his left hand.

"Man, I can't believe how gullible you are!" Iggy added, giving his brother a high five. A charred Otto shakily stood up and shook the ashes out of his hair.

"You'll pay for that…" He growled icily to the two brunets.

"Pffft! Yeah right." Izzy scoffed.

"That was a cheap shot!" Sam told them.

"Hey, could we help it if he's such a casual gamer?" Iggy defended with a shrug.

"I'm gonna win this! You'll see!" Otto barked.

"Ha! That's hard to believe, considering that _you're_ the one in last place!" Izzy retorted.

"Just you wait."

Nothing more was said as they all turned back to the screen and continued the battle.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"I hope I'm not…too…late…" Twister huffed as he reached the top of the hill. He had run all the way there from the arcade. He wiped his forehead. "Man…running never made me so…tired before… Don't tell me I'm getting out of…shape or something…"

He stood up straight and stretched his back before running over to his house, hoping that his brother and his best friend's sister were inside. He dashed up the stairs and barged inside to find Lars and Reggie wrapping presents.

"Thank God you guys are here…" He panted, bending over.

"Twist, what happened to _you_?" Reggie asked as she and Lars ran over to him.

"Never mind me!" He yelled, looking up. "We gotta get down to the arcade!"

Reggie and Lars looked at each other before giving the redhead a curious look.

"Why would we want to go over _there_ for?" The brunet asked, crossing his arms.

"And where's Keoni? Wasn't he with you?" Reggie added.

"As matter of fact, where's Otto? I haven't seen him since this afternoon."

"And Sam's been gone too…"

"_That's_ what I've been trying to tell ya!" Twister shouted. "They're at the arcade!"

"The arcade!" Lars and Reggie asked.

"What would they be doing over there?" The former asked.

"And at this time of night." The latter added.

"Well I don't know all the details," Twister started. "But Sam and Otto are…"

Cut to a view of outside.

"**WHAT!.?.!.?.!**" Reggie and Lars roared, causing several car alarms to go off. "**I'LL KILL 'EM!.!.!**"

They ran out of the house, dragging Twister over to his car. The boy in the elf hat fumbled for his keys as he tried to keep the other two calm. The expressions on Lars and Reggie's faces indicated that he was failing miserably. They rushed him into the car and made him speed off down the hill.

"What the hell was he thinking, accepting a challenge like that!.?.!" Lars shouted as Twister narrowly avoided another driver.

"He's Otto. Whaddya expect?" Reggie said as Twister skidded to a stop at a light. "What _I_ wanna know is how did those Yaoi Brothers pay for something like that."

"Who cares!.?" The brunet yelled as the driver swerved into the strand. "When I get in there, I'm gonna strangle _both_ of them!"

"Hey! Leave some for me!" The girl said as Twister parked in front of the arcade.

Without even waiting for the redhead to turn off the car, Lars and Reggie ran inside the building. They entered the main area and walked up to Keoni.

"Oh good. You guys got here." He said, but Lars and Reggie weren't paying attention. Instead, they were looking at the big screen, their mouths agape.

The screen was showing everybody getting zapped, following an explosion from a bob-omb. Reggie gasped when the camera did a close up on Sam, who looked close to dropping. Lars felt his blood boiling when he saw his boyfriend, who looked even worse than the blond. Otto was panting heavily as electricity crackled around him. His face was almost completely black. From what Lars could tell, his dreadlocks were sticking straight up.

The camera soon switched to the Yaoi Brothers, who were laughing, despite the fact they were getting shocked too. The brunet gritted his teeth in extreme rage. Reggie's face went red with fury at the looks of malice in their faces. A look at the right side of the screen told them that Izzy and Sam had three lives left while Iggy had two. Otto only had one life left!

"Come on. Let's go." Lars said as Twister reached them. They pushed their way through the crowd until they reached the elevator, where the official for the tournament was standing guard.

"Hey! Let us in there!" Reggie shouted.

"No can do." The ref said, shaking his head. "The bosses are having a private duel."

"You call _that_ private!.?" Twister yelled, pointing at the screen as Iggy suffered another shock. Lars rolled his eyes at his brother before grabbing the ref's shirt and glaring at him.

"If you don't want to get beaten senseless, I suggest you let me and my friends inside." He growled. The official gulped.

"I-If y-you strike me, y-you'll have the N-National Gamers' Association t-to a-answer to…" He stuttered in fright. The brunet only snarled in response.

"Come on, brah. It's not worth it to get sued, is it?" Keoni reasoned. Lars only glared at him before letting go of the ref, who sighed with relief.

"Whew… Thanks a lot." The judge said to the younger brunet, who only glowered at him.

"If you _are_ a referee with this Association, why are you letting this match go on?" He asked. "They're getting hurt, ya know."

"I'm well aware of the situation, but I'm not about to risk my job by disobeying orders."

"Come on!" Reggie pleaded. "You have to let us in there before somebody really gets hurt."

"Sorry, it's out of my hands." The ref said, crossing his arms.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!" Izzy and Sam's voices were heard screaming. Everybody looked to the right, where the voices were heard. They noticed a staircase leading upstairs. The referee then went over the elder Yaoi Brother's orders.

_"I'll worry about **them**. Your job is to do whatever I say while you're here, and I say don't let anyone enter this elevator. Got it?"_

The judge grinned before turning to Lars and the others.

"Sorry, I have my orders. I'm not allowed to let anyone come inside this _elevator_." He winked at them. "I'm not supposed to let anybody _ride the elevator_ to the fourth floor." The quartet put on a confused expression before they grinned and nodded.

"Right. We can't go in the _elevator_." Reggie complied, winking at the others.

"Sorry to bother you then." Lars said as they moved towards the staircase. "We won't take the _elevator_ to the fourth floor." He, Reggie, and Twister ran up the stairway. Before following them, Keoni turned to the ref.

"Thanks, cuz." He turned and dashed after his friends.

"Anytime." The official replied, giving him a thumbs-up.

As the group made their way up to the fourth floor, more screams were heard. It was a mesh of voices. Neither member of the quartet could figure out which voice belonged to whom. All that was apparent was that two of them belonged to their friends, and that was enough to keep them moving. As they climbed further and further up, the pain-filled shrieks were getting louder and louder. The horrible sound was especially painful to Lars and Reggie, who had to get their loved ones out of there as fast as possible before anything bad happens to them, if nothing happened already.

"There they are!" Twister announced as they reached the fourth floor. Across from them, they saw the opened panel in the wall. Wasting no time, Lars and Reggie sprinted inside, followed by Twister and Keoni.

"Ouch! I can't believe I'm actually this close to losing!" Izzy shouted as he got hit with electricity.

"_You!.?_ I'm barely alive!" Iggy added, gritting his teeth as he got zapped. "You so owe me for putting me through this!"

"There's no way you shoobies are gonna win!" Otto yelled at them.

"Count on it!" Sam added.

Otto still had one life left while Izzy and Sam had two. Iggy was also on his last life. Everybody had high amounts of damage.

"Otto! Sam!"

"Huh?"

The four battlers turned to see Lars and the others, who have just entered the room.

"Lars? Reg?" Otto said.

"And Twister and Keoni?" Sam added.

"Oh great! Company!" Iggy cursed.

"Grrr… Can't that idiotic ref do anything right!.?" Izzy said, stomping the ground. "I told him not to let anybody come up here!"

"I'll deal with _you_ _two_ later!" Lars yelled at them before turning to the redhead. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"And why are you with him?" Reggie added to Sam. Both boys gulped, trying to think of an excuse.

"Ummm…well…" Otto chuckled nervously.

"The thing is…" Sam tried.

"Ha! Defenseless!" Izzy laughed.

Everybody else turned to the screen to witness Ness unleashing his PK Flash on Mario, sending him high into the air. The red-clad plumber was sent sky high. He then fell into the background and became a star.

"No…" Otto said, dropping his controller with a wide-eyed, gaping expression. "I lost…"

"But wait! There's more!" Izzy yelled, grinning maliciously.

"_Player four, defeated._" The announcer said. Immediately after that, Otto was struck with a massive bolt of lightning bigger than all nineteen of the previous ones.

"**AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!**" He screamed in pure agony. Lars and everybody else shielded their eyes from the bright light. Otto threw his head back as his hands fell to his sides. Those watching the fight in the lobby winced as they heard his ear splitting cries. It felt like an eternity as his body burned. Soon, it all ended as he was tossed from the platform and into the wall near the only way out of the room. His body was still crackling with heavy amounts of electricity as he fell onto the ground.

"OTTO!.!.!" Lars and Reggie shouted as they, Twister, and Keoni ran over to him. They waited until the electricity faded before turning him over.

"Are you alright?" Reggie asked, rocking him.

"Can you hear us?" Lars added. Otto coughed as he weakly lifted his head and turned to his lover.

"Lars…" He gave the teary eyed brunet a small smile. "I-I'm sorry… I messed up…" He dropped into unconsciousness.

"I-Is he…?" Twister trailed off.

"No." Keoni answered, putting two fingers to the fallen boy's neck. "He's just knocked out. He'll be alright after some rest."

"Whew…" Reggie and Lars sighed with relief.

"Heh, one down, one to go." Everybody turned and glared at Izzy, who delivered that snide remark.

"You just can't keep your mouth shut, can't you?" Iggy commented, shaking his head.

"YOU!.!.!" Lars roared, stomping towards the platform. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't come up there right now and beat you to a bloody pulp!"

"Because if you do, your boyfriend's sacrifice will be for nothing." The elder Yaoi Brother replied calmly.

"He's right, Lars." Sam agreed reluctantly. "Believe it or not, me and Otto are fighting them for you."

"For me?" The brunet asked, raising a curious eyebrow at Otto.

"What could he have been fighting them for that involved you?" Reggie asked the blond. Twister gasped in realization.

"Ohhhhh…! I get it! They're fighting for—!" He slapped his mouth.

"Yes…?" Lars and Reggie said, turning to him. The boy in the elf hat sweated, trying to think of someway to avoid telling his brother the truth and spoiling Otto's surprise.

"Oh nothing!" He said, rubbing the back of his head. The other two rolled their eyes.

"God, you pick _now_ to act like a kook, huh?" Lars said, crossing his arms.

"Hey!" Twister protested.

"Can we get back to business already?.!" Izzy shouted. "I still have my annual tournament to run and it's gotta be real late already."

"Actually, it's only ten to nine." Iggy said, looking at his watch.

"That thing _still_ works after you got shocked so many times?" The other brunet raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Whatever! It's time to finish this thing!"

The battle continued with both Bowser and Ness charging towards Pikachu. The yellow mouse ran head-on towards them. Before the brothers can attack, Sam made his character perform a shocking head-butt that got both members of the opposing team. Recovering from the shock, Izzy used PK Fire, but Pikachu jumped over it and used Thunder Jolt. The taller brunet grinned as he made Ness encase himself in an orb of bluish energy. Sam's attack was absorbed into the shield, causing Ness to get healed.

"Oh man…" The blond cursed as he jumped away from Bowser, who went in for a punch.

As the mouse evaded the other fighters' attacks, a super scope appeared. Sam smirked as he saw his opportunity to strike. He weaved around the Koopa's hip drop and Ness's yo-yo before diving for the weapon. He grabbed it and immediately charged energy into it. Iggy stayed on one of the platforms to avoid the attack, but Izzy stood his ground as if to challenge his rival.

"Go ahead and fire if you think you can land actually land a hit." He dared.

"There's no way you'll block it." Sam told him as he got ready to fire.

"We'll see about that."

Putting on a determined expression, Sam fired a huge ball of energy at the psychic. Izzy smirked as he hit down and B, causing the same orb from a few moments ago to appear and absorb the attack. The blond growled, trying to think of something.

"Man, why can't Squid hit him?" Lars asked.

"PK Magnet." Everybody looked at Iggy. "When Izzy uses this attack, all energy moves are absorbed and used to heal Ness. No one can beat him for this reason." He turned to Sam and added, "So you might as well give up."

"No way!" Sam shouted. He made Pikachu jump up and toss the super scope at Bowser. It connected and sent the turtle flying.

"Ouch!" Iggy yelled, feeling the pain of the impact. He made Bowser double jump back to the stage, but Pikachu was waiting for him.

"_Pika!.!.!_" The mouse called as thunder rumbled in the skies above the field. Before Iggy could get away, a lightning bolt came down and struck Pikachu's body. This wouldn't have been so bad had Bowser not been next to the pokémon at the same exact moment. The king got hit and was tossed out of the field and the match.

"_Player two defeated._" The announcer said.

"Ahhhh!.!.! No wait!.!.!" Iggy screamed, trying to get away. "I didn't mean to hurt him!"

It was too late though. His post glowed with energy and sent a lightning bolt as big as the one Otto received crashing down onto him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

Like Otto, he threw his head back as his body glowed brightly. His screams continued for quite sometime before he was thrown into the wall behind the platform. He was rendered unconscious as he slumped down the wall and onto the floor.

"Iggy!.!.!" Izzy gasped in horror before glaring at his rival. "You'll pay for that." He shook his fist. Sam only smirked in response.

"Well, guess it's just us now. You know, it's still not too late to give up."

"No way!" The brunet turned back to the screen. "Let's go!"

Both characters resumed movement and charged towards each other. When they were both close enough to each other, they jumped and made to attack one another. To Izzy's annoyance, Sam was able to score a hit with a hard tail whip. The brunet got shocked hard as his character was sent falling to the ground. His eyes widened when he heard Pikachu call forth its Thunder attack. Izzy barely rolled away from the lightning strike as a capsule appeared. It was right across from Ness.

Both characters instantly raced for the precious item. They both fought each other, trying to claim the item that could possibly help them win the fight. Just before Pikachu can get the precious container, Ness sent it skyways with a swing of his yo-yo. He then grabbed the capsule.

"Ha! Now to destroy you!" Izzy bragged as he tossed it down.

°BOOOOOOOOOM!.!.!°

"What the—!.?.!" He shouted as the capsule exploded, tossing Ness out of the field.

"BUST!.!.!" Lars, Reggie, Twister, and Keoni cheered as the boy got zapped by his own training device.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming." Sam grinned as the psychic reappeared on stage. He only had one life left.

"'_Bet you didn't see that one coming._'" Izzy mocked, coughing up smoke. Just to make Sam shut up, he knocked Pikachu out with a quick swing of the bat before the blond could even defend himself. He stuck his tongue out as the blond got shocked. "Now we're even."

"Come on Squid!" Reggie rooted.

"Kick his ass!" Lars cheered.

"Beat him Sammy!" Twister added.

"You can do it, brah!" Keoni shouted.

The battle seemed to go on for ages. Both boys inflicted point after point of damage. They kept up the fight as they used item after item. They tried their hardest to ignore the shocks they kept suffering. It was like watching two gods go at it. Both fighters refused to give up the match. They were at well over a hundred percent of damage as they panted, trying to hang on to conciousness. The fight often took to the air as they jumped, double jumped, and even used their up and B moves to recover. The damage racked up to well over two hundred percent, but both combatants were still hanging on, though barely.

"I won't lose…" Izzy muttered, struggling to even breathe. "I'm one of the Yaoi Brothers… I can't lose… Again…"

"I gotta win this for Otto's sake…" Sam breathed. The cheers of Lars and the others echoed in his mind. "I have to…"

After what seemed like their twentieth aerial battle, both characters landed on opposite ends of the field while their players kneeled on the cold metal of the platform. They both panted and wheezed as sweat dripped from their faces. Electricity crackled each time the liquid trickled down onto the platform. Sam and Izzy closed their eyes, trying to regain their breath. They stayed like that for about a minute when a small jingle sounded, announcing the arrival of an item. The brunet and blond struggled to stand to see what appeared. Their eyes widened as soon as they recognized it.

It was a hammer. The wooden handle and black head called to them like a siren's song. As soon as one of their characters grabbed it, he or it would swing it wildly and cause immense damage to anyone unlucky enough to get hit. And judging by how much damage both players suffered, it would only take one hit to end the match. Both Izzy and Sam felt their energy returning to them as they jammed their control sticks to the limit in an attempt to grab the weapon before the other. They raced to the item. Because it was closer to Ness, Izzy was able to reach it first.

"YES!.!.! You're mine now!" He cheered as hit the A button. Ness grabbed the hammer, causing a song from the arcade game Donkey Kong to play.

"No… It's over…" Sam said, bowing his head.

"You got that right! And as soon as you get knocked out, you'll feel the shock of a lifetime!" Izzy laughed. "You think what Iggy and Otto suffered was horrible? Wait until you lose _your_ last life!"

As Izzy moved Ness towards Pikachu, the most unexpected thing happened.

"Huh?" He gasped. "**NO! NOT _THAT_! NOT NOW!.!.!**"

"What?" Sam looked up and grinned.

The head of the hammer fell off!

"Of all the times for _that_ to happen!" The brunet slapped his head.

"Hurry up Squid! Toss it before he can get away!" Reggie yelled.

"Right!" Sam nodded.

He propelled Pikachu towards the hammer's head and grabbed it. Izzy tried to get away, but it was useless. Without a second thought, Pikachu pitched the head, which connected. Ness was rocketed out of the field!

"_GAME!_" The game's announcer said.

"ALRIGHT! HE DID IT!.!.!" Everybody that was conscious cheered.

"NO! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!.!.!" Izzy roared as he slammed his controller onto the ground. He then turned and shook a fist at Sam. "HOW DID YOU BEAT ME, **AGAIN**!.?.! I'M A PRO!.!.! I'M INVINCIBLE!.!.! I SHOULD'VE WON THAT BY A LONG SHOT!.!.! MARK MY WORDS; I'LL DEFEAT YOU, EVEN IF IT TAKES ME A MILLION YEARS!.!.! NO MATTER WHAT, I **WON'T** ADMIT DEFEAT!.!.! YOU HEAR ME!.?.! I WON'T ADMIT DEFEAT!.!.!" He gasped for air after that outburst.

"Fine." Sam shrugged. He grinned as he added, "You don't have to." Izzy caught his breath and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Sam only pointed up in response. The brunet looked up and felt his pupils shrink to nearly nothing. "Oh no…"

The post above him was charging a massive amount of electricity. Almost lethal by the looks of it. It glowed a bright yellow as the current begged to be released. A great lightning bolt slammed down onto him with the force of a giant weight.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!**" He screamed as electricity crackled onto the platform. Sam narrowly avoided it as he jumped off and ran up to Reggie and the others.

"Sammy! You're ok!" The girl shouted, embracing him. The blond smiled warmly as he returned the hug. When they separated, she glared at him. "Don't you ever do something like that again!.!.!" Sam chuckled sheepishly.

"Heh, heh… Gotcha…"

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!**"

Everybody turned towards Izzy, who was still getting punished for his failure. Those watching couldn't see the boy's body. It was completely illuminated by the lightning. Small explosions were lighting up all over the room. Smoke was quickly filling the room. The TV's screen was cracking as it glowed red.

"_Overload… Overload… Overload…_" The female voice from before the match started droned as the entire room started shaking. The TV soon exploded, sending glass flying. The speakers soon followed suit.

"Ugh… What's going on…?" Iggy groaned as he sat up and looked around. He blinked as soon as he heard his brother's screams of extreme pain. His eyes widened when he noticed the explosions going on and the others.

"Run for it! It's gonna blow!" He yelled to them as he shot up and ran out of the room.

"You heard him! Let's go!" Lars shouted, taking Otto into his arms. Everybody ran out into the hall and looked as smoke and electricity filled up the room, completely blocking Izzy from view. His wails were still heard by everyone.

"Izzy!" Iggy skidded and ran towards the room.

"Wait!" Twister yelled as he and Keoni grabbed each of his arms.

"Let go of me! I gotta save my brother!" The boy protested, struggling to get free.

"You'll get hurt too!" Keoni shouted, trying to hang on to the shorter boy.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!**" Izzy screamed one final time before a huge explosion was heard. Smoke was sent billowing into the hallway, causing everybody to cough and gasp for air.

When the smoke cleared, everybody looked inside the room. Aside from the TV, speakers, Gamecube, and the platform, everything was holding up. Everything else was destroyed. Some areas were still crackling with leftover electricity. The walls were cracked. There were holes in some parts. And standing in the middle of the platform was a charbroiled Izzy. His head was tilted to the left and his eyes were wide and unblinking. He coughed up clouds of smoke. The people downstairs were able to see his blackened face.

"Maybe I should've challenged him to Tennis instead…" He moaned as he wobbled backwards. "Ohhhhh…" He fainted.

"Will he be alright?" Twister asked.

"He better be!" Iggy shouted. "Mom's gonna kill us when she finds out what happened." He walked around the rubble and over to Izzy.

"We better get out of here." Lars said. He was about to turn towards the elevator when he heard a groan. "Huh?" He looked down at Otto, who was shifting around. The redhead slowly opened his eyes and turned to Sam.

"Well…? Did we win…?" He asked weakly. The blond gave him a thumbs-up as he nodded.

"Yeah. We beat 'em."

"Good… Time to rub it in his face…" The redhead coughed as Lars helped him to his feet. Leaning against him for support, the Rocket walked back into the room, followed by the others.

"Izzy…?" Iggy said, nudging his brother. "Are you ok? Can you move?"

Izzy shot up and bashed him repeatedly.

"Can I move!.?.!" He yelled as he pounded his younger brother. "I'm lucky I can breathe!.!.! Why did _we_ feel the shocks!.?.! Wait until we get home! You're gonna get punished BIG time for this screw up!"

"Sorry _Beldam_." The smaller brunet remarked, catching that obvious line.

"So I've been playing a little too much Paper Mario lately! You're still gonna get it, ya little—"

"Hey Izzy!"

Clenching a fist, the older Yaoi Brother turned towards Otto and the others.

"We beat ya fair and square, so I want my prize."

"Well, you're not getting it!" Izzy yelled, sticking out his tongue.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"Well that's too bad! You're not getting it and that's that!"

"You better give Otto whatever it is you fought for, or so help me…" Lars said, shaking a fist at him. Izzy was about to say something when Keoni stepped up.

"Listen, you're probably looking at a major lawsuit here, cuz."

"What!.? And just who are you?.!" The gamer barked.

"Like I said," The other brunet said, ignoring Izzy. "You could get sued for this little stunt you pulled. Trying to electrocute two of our friends and your own brother? This won't go down well with your customers _or_ the proper authorities." Izzy's eyes widened in fright.

"Y-you wouldn't…"

"Wanna try me?" The Hawaiian shot back. "Your business won't be the only thing to go down after I'm through with you." Izzy growled, seeing no other way out of this. He bowed his head in defeat.

"Alright, alright… I'll give it to him." He said. "It'll be gift wrapped and hand delivered first thing in the morning."

"Thank you." Keoni grinned before leaving with the others.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy!.?" Iggy yelled when they were out of earshot. "Just who did he think he was, threatening to sue us?.!"

"Forget about it." Izzy said, standing up. "You don't want to mess with a guy like that, especially when he threatens to sue. I'll give Red the blasted DS and the game. It's no skin off my nose. Let's lock up and go home. I need to chip off the dead skin."

"You know, I can't help but think we're forgetting something…" Iggy trailed off, holding his chin.

"AHEM!.!.!"

The brothers' eyes widened when they looked up at the exit to the room and saw an angry mob pour in.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!.!.! We forgot about the tournament!.!.!" They shouted, clinging to each other.

"I'll say you did!" A member of the mob yelled. "If you gave that kid the DS, what are you gonna give as the prize!.?.!" The rest of the contestants voiced their agreement. The siblings gulped as they turned to each other.

"What'll we do? We gotta give them a DS or they'll kill us." Iggy said.

"Simple." Izzy said, giving him an evil look. "We'll give 'em your DS." His brother gasped as his eyes widened before glaring at him.

"WHAT!.?.! No way in hell! We'll give 'em _yours_!"

"Yours!"

"No, _yours_!" Iggy yelled.

The brothers growled at each other before getting into a massive fist fight.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Post-chapter Conversation

Izzy crawled inside the studio and went up to me with pure rage in his eyes. Iggy followed, walking weakly. Both of them were still charbroiled.

"_You… You knew that was gonna happen, didn't you?_" The older brother hissed when he reached me.

"Maybe, maybe not." I answered innocently. Izzy stood straight up and shook his fists.

"When will I win!.?.!" He screamed to the ceiling.

"Bro, he's just too good." Iggy tried. "Maybe you should get a new rival."

"No way! I won't rest until I beat Blondie in _something_!"

"What if you took up the Yu-Gi-Oh card game?"

"Nope. I don't know any strategies, so I couldn't write a fic on that." I answered.

"Fine. How about Hockey?" Iggy offered.

"Uhhhh _hello_! He's a goalie!" Izzy shouted.

"Oh yeah!" The younger brunet said, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, how about Tennis?"

"Pfft! The Rocket Power cast playing Tennis? That'll be the day!" I scoffed.

"Hey, they did an episode in which Otto went to a golf course. Why couldn't they play Tennis?"

"Believe me, that'd be too weird even for me." I said. I then turned to the camera. "See ya next time when we do the final chapter (for real this time!)!"


	5. Epilogue

Pre-chapter Conversation

"I lost… Again… I can't believe it…" Izzy sobbed to himself. He was rocking back and forth.

"Oh give it a rest already!" Iggy and I shouted at him. I turned to the camera.

"Anyway, considering that this is the last chapter (and I mean it this time!), there's nothing to say except thanks for reading. This chapter is gonna be a short one, which I bet is a relief after reading the last one. Hope ya enjoy the ending!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Otto's Christmas Quest

Epilogue

The Exchange

"Come on, Otto. You gotta go to the hospital." Lars said as they climbed into Twister's car. He allowed the redhead to sit in his lap while Sam and Reggie joined them in the backseat. Keoni sat in the passenger's seat while Twister took his position behind the wheel.

"No way!" Otto protested. "I'll be fine!"

"You just got hit with God knows how many volts of electricity and you're gonna tell me you're fine!.?" Reggie shouted at him.

"Come on, bro. We gotta take you and Squid to see if you're well enough to do anything." Twister agreed.

"I'm _not_ going to the hospital and that's that!" The Rocket said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Wanna bet?" Lars said, grinning as he snaked his arms around his boyfriend's waist.

"What the—!.?" Otto gasped. "Let go! I don't wanna go!" He struggled to get free, but the boy in the Santa hat only held on tight.

"Chill Otto." Sam said as Twister started the car.

"Yeah, brah. This is for your own good." Keoni added as his lover drove off.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!.!.!.!.!" Otto's scream echoed in the night sky.

Later…

(A/N: I have no idea how you're supposed to treat someone who got shocked as much as Sam and Otto did, if such a case actually occurred in real life. Just go with me on this.)

It turned out that Otto and Sam didn't have anything to worry about concerning the injuries they received during the match against the Yaoi Brothers. They were perfectly fine. All that needed to be done was get the dead skin wiped off their bodies, which the young nurses stationed at the hospital were all too happy to do, MUCH to the displeasure of Lars and Reggie. The blond and redhead squirmed and argued with the girls as they were given sponge baths. Their lovers' faces flashed with an expression that was somewhere between jealousy and murderous rage as they heard the two fighting with the girls.

As soon as the giggling nurses were done with the two boys, the group collected the bill from Otto and Reggie's doctor and made their way home. Twister drove them up to the cul-de-sac and dropped off Lars, Otto, Sam, and Reggie before driving back down to the Shack, where Keoni was staying. The blond and redhead's faces were a bright red as they went to their respective homes. Reggie accompanied Sam inside his house while Lars walked Otto to the Rockets' place.

"That was without a doubt the most embarrassing moment of my life." The redhead muttered as he walked across the living room towards the staircase.

"Hey, I didn't like it any more than you did, and I wasn't even the one getting scrubbed down!" Lars said, shuddering as he followed Otto up the stairs.

"Just be glad you weren't. Their eyes were everywhere."

"I don't want to hear it, Otto." The brunet said as they reached the younger boy's room. "Just go to sleep. I want to forget about tonight so that I can spend Christmas with you."

"Alright. Today was hell." Otto said as he kicked off his sneakers and hopped into bed. "I'm just glad me and Squid beat those brothers." He yawned as Lars took off his sunglasses for him.

"Those guys are crazy." Lars commented as he tucked Otto in. "I hope whatever it is you were playing against them for was worth it."

"It was…" The redhead yawned again as his eyes drooped shut. "Good night…"

"See ya in the morning." Lars whispered before planting a soft kiss on his lover's lips. He slowly tip-toed out of the room and whispered "Feliz Navidad" before closing the door.

The next day…

°Knock, knock, knock!°

"Hmmmm… Yes Lars… I'll marry you…" Otto mumbled in his sleep. The knocks coming from the front door were ignored.

°Ding-dong! Ding-dong!°

"Forget the ceremony… Let's just skip to the honeymoon…" He grinned as continued catching Zs. The ringing of the doorbell remained unanswered.

Pounding was heard soon after.

"Hmmmm…?" He cracked open an eye, only to hear the doorbell ring again. Groaning, he got up and dragged himself down to the door. The piece of wood separating Otto from the outside world was pounded on for about a minute longer before he wrenched it open.

"WHAT!.?.!.?.!"

On the other side was Iggy, who was shaking as he sobbed uncontrollably. He was holding two boxes that were stacked on top of each other. They were each wrapped in a green paper that had various game controllers pictured. Also pictured all over the paper were two male symbols that were linked together. The box on top was a fraction of the size of the lower box. The top box was wrapped in a red bow.

"H-here's your p-prize…!" The younger boy cried, handing it over. "A DS with a copy of Feel the Magic, just as Izzy promised! WAAAAHHHH!.!.!.!" He wiped his bloodshot eyes as Otto took it. "Tell Lars it truly is the greatest-greatest-greatest gaming system ever made!" He covered his eyes with one arm as he wiped his nose with the other.

"Uhhh… Thanks…" Otto said, raising an eyebrow at the brunet. "But why are you crying for?" Iggy sniffed and wiped his eyes again.

"Be-because I-Iz-Izzy g-gave m-my D-D-DSsssss as the prize in the t-tour-tour-TOURNAMENT!.!.!" He broke down and buried his face in his arms as he opened the floodgates. The redhead put on a weirded out look as he watched the boy cry his heart out at the loss of his own system. He stood there, trying to think of someway to get the younger Yaoi Brother off his front lawn when he snapped his fingers.

"Hey, hang on a minute!" He said, running inside the house. He was gone for a few moments before he reappeared with something in his hand. "Here."

"Huh?" Iggy sniffled, looking up. There was a handful of money in the older boy's hand. It looked like there was at least two hundred dollars there.

"Take it." Otto said, stuffing the cash into the younger one's tear-stained hand.

"What's this?" Iggy asked, sitting up and looking at the money like he's never seen it before.

"Think of it as a Christmas present. I was gonna use this money to buy a DS for Lars, but since I already got it, I want you to have it." The redhead answered. "Go on and buy yourself a DS when the holidays are over."

Tears welled up in Iggy's eyes.

"Y-you mean you're giving me this e-even after what m-me and my b-b-brother did to you last n-n-night?"

"Sure." Otto shrugged. "Even though you probably don't deserve it, you were only doing what he was sayin'."

"Th-thank you!" Iggy cried, encircling his arms around the older one's waist. "I'm sorry I did all that to you last night!" He sobbed into the other's chest. Otto put on a pained look as he tried to get him off.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get outta here before I change my mind."

"Yes. Thank you again!" Iggy said, getting up. He turned to run when he added, "Lars made the right choice when he chose to make you his." He then ran off, laughing giddily. Otto waved after him when he gasped.

"Lars! I almost forgot!"

He ran back inside and put on his shoes. He grabbed the Yaoi Brothers' gifts and locked the door before walking over to Lars' house. He crossed the street and walked up the stairs feeling slightly nervous. He finally got what he wanted to give Lars for Christmas. After all the difficulties he faced yesterday, he got the one thing that could make the older boy take their relationship to the next level. He conquered all doubts and beat the odds. All that was left to do now was present his love with the system and pop the question. Nobody could deny him what he wanted now.

Gulping and shaking with anticipation, he reached up and rang the doorbell to his lover's residence. A few moments passed before the door was answered by his one and only. It felt like someone was holding Otto's heart as he stared at Lars, who was dressed in a red flannel robe. He was still wearing the Santa hat from yesterday. The brunet grinned as he laid eyes on the redhead, who was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.

"Hey." Lars greeted. Sweat fell down Otto's face in sheets as he stumbled over his words.

"M-M-Merry…"

"Oh, are those for me?" Otto only nodded dumbly as the taller boy took the packages from him and led him inside.

Lars led him to the sofa in the living room. The only thing festive in the room was the tree, which unlike Otto's, was green. Needless to say, it was decorated with all sorts of ornaments. The whole bottom of the tree was bare, save for a couple of boxes, which Lars picked up and handed to Otto.

"Merry Christmas, babe." He said, giving the younger boy a peck on the cheek.

Otto's senses came back to him when he noticed the weight on his lap. Immediately, he tore into the packages, littering the floor with paper. Lars could only watch as the shorter one ripped off the paper like a little kid would. The brunet's heart felt lighter when he saw the redhead's wide grin. He had just unwrapped a brand new skateboard. The deck was purple and had a highly detailed picture of a rocket ship blasting off on the bottom. The main difference between that one and his other board was the red star that was in the middle of the top of the deck. The wheels were yellow to match the board.

"Oh Lars… It's beautiful…" Otto said, sniffling.

"Not as beautiful as you." Lars said, putting an arm around him as he sat down. When Otto unwrapped his new repair kit, he embraced the other boy in a crushing hug.

"Thanks a lot! How'd you know I needed a new kit!.?"

"Heh… Reggie tipped me off." Lars answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"I better thank her the next time I see her." Otto said. He then noticed the Yaoi Brother's prize, which remained wrapped. "Hey, aren't you gonna open your presents?"

"Huh?" The brunet looked at his own gifts and shrugged. "Oh yeah. Forgot about those." He picked up the bigger of the two boxes and looked at the wrapping paper closely. He raised an eyebrow before turning to the other boy. "Otto… Where'd you—?"

"Just open it." The redhead said sternly, causing Lars to chuckle.

"Alright, alright." He said before ripping the paper off the box.

When he was done, a picture of Samus Aran was staring back at him. Also pictured was a silverish device that had two screens with a black d-pad to the left of the bottom screen and six black buttons to the right of it. A stylus was also pictured. He gasped when he realized what he was holding.

"Woah! A Nintendo DS!.? How'd you get it!.? It must've been impossible to get!"

Otto grinned at his reaction.

"Would you believe I had to fight a couple of guys to get it?"

"I don't care if you had to swim to Japan to get it! I love it!" He grabbed Otto in a loving embrace and kissed him square on the lips.

"Woah… You're welcome…" Otto said dizzily when they separated. He then shook his head when he realized it was now or never. "Uhhh… Lars?"

"Yeah?" Lars asked, admiring his new system. Otto made him face him as he prepared to speak. He gulped as he looked into the eyes of the other boy. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"I…" He started nervously. "I think we should take—"

"Oh wait! I almost forgot I had another present for you." The brunet interrupted as he stood up with his gifts. "I'll just go get it." He walked towards his room and entered, leaving Otto alone. The redhead sighed with relief when he realized he was safe for the moment.

"Come on Otto, you could do this…" He told himself as he wiped his sweating head. All he had to do was just simply tell Lars he was ready to take the next step. "Just say the words." He repeated it over and over in his mind, trying to get the words right. He had to phrase it delicately, otherwise he could come off as only wanting sex and that could screw things up.

Otto blinked and looked around when he realized that five minutes must've gone by. How long does it take to get a Christmas present? Without another thought, he put aside the presents Lars gave him and walked over to his door, which was next to Twister's. He knocked on it and turned the knob.

"Lars, are you ok? You were kinda taking too long, so I—" His mouth dropped when he fully opened the door.

Standing in the middle of the room was Lars, who wasn't wearing his robe anymore. It was lying at his feet, revealing his body to Otto. The brunet was only wearing the Santa hat he's been wearing for the past couple of weeks. The only other piece of clothing he was wearing was a pair of boxers that had a design that looked like a wrapped present. It was green while the ribbon part of the design was red. Right in the middle of the underwear was a bow. Otto's face turned red as his eyes danced all over Lars' body.

"L-Lars…?" He managed when his brain reentered his head. "Wh-what're you—"

"It's your present." Lars replied, walking up to him. "I want to take our relationship further. That is, if you want to. I won't force you to do anything you're not ready for. I—"

"Shhhhh…" Otto silenced, wrapping his arms around the other's waist. He closed his eyes as their lips connected. Lars blinked before slowly shutting his eyes.

As they kissed, the older boy embraced the younger one and brought him closer. Lars licked Otto's bottom lip, begging for entrance. Otto was only too happy to oblige and parted his lips, allowing his boyfriend's tongue to enter and caress the inside of his mouth while he did the same to Lars. As the brunet moved his hands inside the other's shirt, the redhead moaned in pleasure. Otto felt him grin as he continued moving his arms in a slow, circling movement. They only parted long enough to breathe and relieve Otto of the offending piece of clothing.

When they resumed making out, one of Lars' hands went down to unbutton Otto's shorts. As Lars removed the shorts, they pressed their bodies even closer, moaning when they felt the pleasure of their private areas rubbing against the fabric of their underwear, straining to be let free.

'_Hmmmmm… Lars sure tastes good…_' Otto thought absently as their hands roamed to parts unknown. '_I wonder what is that though… Tastes kinda like pancakes, eggs, and bacon. He must've had a big breakfast. That's not all though. There's something else though. It's kinda familiar, not to mention cold… Hmmm… What is that? It's on the tip of my tongue…_'

He chuckled at the obvious pun. Lucky for him, Lars was also rubbing against a ticklish area, so he didn't pay any mind.

'_Come on, think! What is that flavor? It's kinda funky and kind of burning, like a candy cane… Wait a minute! Is that…_' Otto's eyes widened. '**_ICE CREAM!.?.!_**'

He pulled away from Lars and glared at him as he panted.

"Huh…?" Lars breathed, raising a confused eyebrow at his lover. "What's up? Why'd you stop?"

"Peppermint…" Otto hissed, causing the taller boy to gulp. "You've been having that damn ice cream again, haven't you!.?"

"Yeah. So what if I have?" Lars crossed his arms.

"You _know_ I hate that flavor and you eat that junk _now_!.?"

"So? You _know_ I love that flavor! When are you gonna get used to that?"

"Never! If we're actually gonna do it, I don't wanna have to taste that crap!"

"CRAP!.?.!" Lars demanded.

"You heard me!.!.!" Otto retorted.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Throughout the town, everybody was celebrating the holiday with their loved ones. Sam and Reggie were inside the blond's house, kissing every so often as he worked on installing the memory extension on his computer. Reggie loved the new gold bracelet she got. She didn't normally like to wear this girly stuff, but she decided to make an exception for her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, down at the beach, Twister and Keoni were exchanging gifts. The redhead got a plushy that was made to look like a Menehune. While he used to be scared of the freakish elves, he didn't mind the weird toy one bit. The brunet was overjoyed when he got a portable DVD player, as well as several DVDs. Since the battery was already charged (thanks to Twister thinking ahead), they both snuggled in close as they watched some movies.

As for Otto and Lars…

"Why did ya have to eat that stuff before I came over!.?.!"

"How was I supposed to know you were gonna come so early!.?.! I thought I woulda had enough time to wash my mouth out!"

"Well ya thought wrong, didn't you!.?.!"

They fought long into the night.

It seemed like everyone had a happy and joyful holiday.

**THE END**

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Post-story Conversation

"You know you're gonna hear it for not making them do it, right?" Iggy said to me.

"Eh, I know." I shrugged. "But this was a comedy. I couldn't make 'em do the deed. At least I gave the readers a taste of it."

"Blech! I'm glad ya stopped it with that ice cream gag!" Izzy said, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"One thing though." Iggy started. "You had Keoni give Twister a Menehune doll—"

"AHHHHHHH!.!.! EVIL!.!.!" Izzy screamed, running away. Iggy and I rolled our eyes before turning back to each other.

"If Race Across Rainbows was written before the third movie aired, wouldn't Twister getting that gift create some kind of plot hole?"

"Good point…" I said, holding my chin. "I suppose the best way to cover this one is by saying that Island of the Menehune _did_ occur, but Ray and Noelani didn't get married, which would make this and Race Across Rainbows AU stories."

"I guess that helps…" Iggy said, scratching his head.

"Well, if that's it, I guess we'll call it a day." I turned to the camera. "From Ocean Shores, I'm Prince Izzy."

"I'm Iggy." The younger brunet said, waving at the camera.

The camera switched to Izzy, who was still running.

"And I'm Izzy! AHHH!.!.!"

"See ya!" We all shouted.


End file.
